Last Anthem of the Crows
by Hogy
Summary: Twelve years ago, two Crows have started a path towards events that have changed the world. Join them on a journey and meet many beloved characters, as the story recounts their experiences written from the closest perspective. Adventure/Humor/Romance. WARNING: gore, mature language, adult content!
1. Journey Begins

A small, dark room of the Antivan brothel smelled like tobacco, sex and cheap wine. Closed window kept stale air in the confined space and if one were to enter the room, he wouldn't even notice people playing cards upon the small trestle table. When Ben kicked the door open, card-players looked at him, blinded by daylight.

„Hello there, fuckboys! Get your pansy-asses ready! We're going to Val Royeux tomorrow!" he yelled, heaving as if he'd just ran a marathon. Brown haired Fereldan with weak beard and piercing stare, Damien, folded his cards and raised his brow in a feigned excitement.

„Really? Val Royeux? How exciting! "

This obviously offended energetic Ben.

„Stick the sarcasm up your arse! This time, I have a written contract-" he said, taking the rolled out paper from his cloak, "and you are going to do your job, Damien!"

Young Fereldan let out a very long sigh, openly showing his annoyance with the news. Dark skinned half-elf on the other side, Sayo, put a card on the table, taking few silver coins from Damien, receiving a killing stare. After taking Damien's money, he asked: „Why do you hate Orlais so much? There are beautiful virgins there just waiting to be plowed, exquisite wines, and if all else fails you can always take a piss below one of those Maferath statues. " he said, with a wistful stare in his eyes.

„Too fancy for me." Damien said, licking his wounds after losing money.

Ben was still offended by Damien's reaction.

„Oh look, look! It seems like I don't care if you find it fancy or not! Both of you get your shit together and meet me at the docks, tomorrow morning! Is that clear?" Old man was clearly annoyed. He walked out the room and loudly slammed the door.

„Sayo?" Damien finally broke the awkward silence surrounding the room.

„Hm?" Sayo replied, still looking at the door with a puzzled look on his face.

„What ticked the old man off so much?"

„I wanted to ask you, too. What's up with him?"

„Maybe he got his dick bitten by some whore in Royeux, long time ago." Damien said barely suppressing his laugh.

„That is… hard to imagine."

They both laughed at the image of their tutor with a woman chewing on his phallus and started packing for a trip.

„Don't be so grim, Dam. Maybe you will find something interesting there." Sayo said, throwing him few silver coins as a consolation.

„You wish." he said, pocketing the money.

Dawn's dim daylight illuminated the waking city of Antiva. Grey docks, whore-houses, golden streets and slums slowly filled with life. Sayo was awake for some time now checking his luggage one more time. " _Where is that idiot_?" he thought to himself. For whatever reason, Damien was late. Perhaps, Sayo reckoned, he found some cheap whore or spent the rest of the night drinking to hide embarrassment from losing yet another party of Wicked Grace. They should've been on docks by now.

He decided to go check on him.

As he entered his friends room, the scene made him puzzled. He veered between anger and laughter. Damien was still sleeping! Naked! With a whore by his side! Floor was filled with empty bottles of brandy, obstructing the movement. A stench of alcohol, body fluids and sweat almost made him faint.

"DAMIEN!" he screamed as hard as he could.

"What…" Damien answered with sleepy voice, confused by the sudden scream.

"What the fuck are you doing? You should be ready for the trip!"

"As to what I was doing, it was this lovely redhead… and then I passed out, I guess." Damien said pointing at the naked, young redhead lying next to him. "You should've seen how much she can drink. And things she can do with…"

"I don't care, you arsetard! Get dressed and come to the docks! And pray to whatever god you Fereldans worship that Ben doesn't kill you!"

"Fine, fine, spoilsport. I packed up last night… won't take long."

As Damien and Sayo reached the docks, they saw an elderly, familiar figure in the distance. The figure, indeed, noticed them and started yelling, from a distance: "You're late! Of course you're late! How could I even hope you won't be?" Ben shouted looking at Damien with raging eyes. People on the docks gave them puzzled looks. "Can you listen to me for once! Did I raise you to be an idiot or a responsible man?"

"You raised me to kill people for money, and spend that money on whores and drinks. Which is one of the reason why we're…AUGH!" Damien's soliloquy was abruptly stopped by Ben's hand, smacking against his parietal bone. Even while his eyes filled with tears, he could still see his mentor's angry glare. Old man was, indeed, extremely tense.

"I'm sorry…" Damien whispered, holding his hurting head.

They've boarded a huge vessel, _Saint Dominica_ , once a trade ship but now used to carry passengers, as well as a cargo of questionable legality. However, it was still a beautiful ship, with its weathered mast and sides made of polished, dark cedar. Seeing new passengers, old captain gave the sign and ship sailed out against the murky sea.

Damien stared at the captain's cliché peg leg, and face which would fit a pirate more than a captain of passenger ship. Since captain was very fond of the Crows, he gave them the best cabins on the ship, as Damien noticed once they passed open doors of low-level cabins where sailors slept on rope cots.

"Something is very wrong with our master." he finally broke the thoughtful silence, after Ben retreated to his room.

"Not even a bard would say it better. I say, he'll lose his mind soon this way. What if something really happened to him in Orlais?" Sayo scratched his head, looking at Damien with a concern in his silver, big eyes. Damien broke the gloomy atmosphere with sudden burst of laughter.

"What?" Sayo was confused by a sudden outburst of laugh.

"Nothing. Just love that wannabe-serious-grumpy-elf look on your face."

"Arsetard…"

Days were slow on the open sea. Luckily, winds were their friends and waters calm to the point where the sea once even turned into a mirror. Sailors manned the oars, softly steering their ship against the sunlight. All this time, Ben was strangely quiet. If he had to speak, the words would be formed with such spite that even the grumpy sailors avoided him. Damien and Sayo followed sailors example. Well, not Damien. He enjoyed prodding his master for fun, and earned so many smacks and punches that Sayo worried he won't survive the trip.

"I am so BORED!" Damien, energetic Damien, hyperactive Damien who could not stand being at the same place for too long said this sentence every hour for past two days. This time he was laying on a yardarm. Turns out, he loves climbing and he's the best climber Sayo had ever seen, which meant he would regularly climb on, well… everything. Other Crows jokingly named him The Spider.

"Just two more days, Dam." Half elf tried to make him feel better, although he knew it won't help. Sayo didn't believe it himself.

"You said that two days ago!" Damien moaned, hugging the yard with comically bored face.

"Say, Dam... Did you try to grow up, perhaps? It's loads of fun, trust me."

"Fuck off!" Damien showed him a middle finger.

"If the winds favour us, we could be in Val Royeux tomorrow", a sailor who looked through the spyglass on observatory nearby tried to ease the tension.

"Tomorrow is so far away…"

"Why don't you play some cards to pass the time?" sailor asked.

"I can't. This wretched little knife-ear took all of my money yesterday."

Late at night, Damien and Sayo woke up at the sound of trouble. The footsteps of worried sailors thumped loudly against the wood above their heads. All the time, a weird sound could be heard, as if the sea itself came alive and started eating on the sides of a ship. Damien felt the terror inside his heart, and Sayo was even worse. His face looked contorted in horror, as he stared through the small window on the side of a ship.

"We're stranded!" Sayo yelled.

"Finally, a land!"

"No, you idiot! We're not in Val Royeux!"  
"Finally, an adventure!"

"They say even death can't cure an idiot." Sayo quoted.

As they reached the main deck, they noticed something strange. Along the shores, hidden in the darkness was a bunch of darker shadows. The sailor who tried calming Damien down yelled: "Monsters! We are beset by monsters! Join the fight, you scallywags!"

One of the sailors in front of them fell down, hit by a dark black, thorny arrow. Another arrow hit the face of a sailor who just talked to them, splattering his head like a ripe melon. Ben had just used his long scimitar to cut the throat of an unknown dark beast that had just climbed the deck.

"You two! Use your bows, now! They attack from the distance!"

Ben's apprentices didn't even wait. Loading their bows, both Damien and Sayo jumped down under the deck railing. As one of the beasts dipped their arrow in an oil, setting it aflame, for a moment Damien saw its face. He wished he didn't see it. It looked like a man, but at the same time it wasn't. Monster's eyes were sunken, just two dark spots under the light of a torch. Its face looked like a skull, with a set of wicked, sharp teeth and a long, sharp tongue which lolled out of its open mouth, like it's tasting the air.

Damien didn't wait for it to unleash a fiery arrow and burn the ship. He put an arrow right between its eyes, and its blood was completely black.

"Maker's balls… those are darkspawn! Don't engage it in melee!" Damien yelled. Once, when he was a kid, a group of farmers ganged on a stray darkspawn and killed it with their pitchforks. They lived near his home, and he saw a body himself. It was terrible, and it gave him nightmares for weeks.

"That's WHAT?" Ben screamed. He didn't notice it before, but now it all made sense. His hands were sticky with a black, viscous blood.

"Those are darkspawn! Whatever you do, don't get into the direct contact with their blood!"

Even under a dim moonlight, Ben's face looked terrified. And as he turned around, gigantic darkspawn wielding the huge jagged battleaxe cleft a way across his gut.  
"BEN!" Damien screamed, kicking a huge Hurlock right in the face. The monster dropped its jagged, large axe. However, it didn't retreat. It had a monstrous strength, and kicked him down the deck. When Sayo noticed Damien falling down, he let a carefully aimed arrow right through monster's gullet. Huge Hurlock started gagging and wheezing, and it gave Damien enough time to climb onto it's back, stabbing a dagger into a tough, leathery skin of its neck. Monster didn't retreat, however. It went berserk, throwing Damien away, lunging at Sayo. It grabbed a discarded weapon, bleeding all over in a berserk rage.

"It's going to kill us all! Fall back!" one of the sailors exclaimed in horror, dropping the morale of the crew. Sailors started skittering around, trying to abandon the ship. Just as the situation seemed desperate, Ben finally managed to gather enough strength to stand up. Huge Hurlock already raised an axe with both hands above Sayo, who tried hitting it with bolts that just bounced of its heavy, black plate. Monster didn't notice Ben creeping up its back, and he mustered all of his strength to push a dagger in the crack between the plates of its primitive armour. Ben studied humanoid anatomy, and had a rough idea where its heart would be. Of course, he was right.

As his dagger found a way inside of a dark, sinewy flesh, monster screamed in pain. After a several confused seconds, it toppled on a side, crashing on a deck with a heavy thud. When other monsters realized that their leader is dead, they retreated. Suddenly, unnatural silence fell upon the ship. With their attackers escaping the fight, very air around them was blighted and dead. Surviving sailors did their best to push the ship away from the shore and as they did and the ship sailed away from the cursed island, suddenly the moonlight became brighter.

"Ben, are you alright?!" Damien yelled. Sayo stepped closer.

"I'm fine…. Don't worry so much, it's annoying." Ben said, grabbing his stomach. Luckily, the blade hadn't really passed through his gut – it was slowed by a thin silverite chainmail above his studded leather armour. Even with that, a wound bled badly, but wasn't fatal. However, Damien couldn't help but worry. What if Ben got sick, what if some of that black blood came into contact with his?

"I can help." Sayo said.

"Hmm?" Both Damien and Ben said.

"My mother was a dalish elf. She knew a lot about herbalism. I have some herbs in my pack which can staunch bleeding and disinfect the wound. Let me help."

Grumping, Ben undid the straps on his armour. Now, the wound looked worse than with armour on. It cleft his flesh apart, revealing profusely bleeding, fleshy tear.

"He almost cut you in half. And you're saying you're fine?" Sayo asked his mentor.

"I'm not a baby. I suffered worse wounds during my training." Ben muttered.

Sayo took a mortar and the pestle from his backpack, grounding a bunch of elfroot to the paste, adding a bit of the powdered crystal grace flowers. After it all became a pasty grease, he applied it around Ben's wound and it immediately stopped bleeding. After it was finished, Sayo chanted a simple cantrip above the rest of a paste, and mortar started filling with water. He sipped it into a small flask, letting Ben drink it.

"So it's a healing potion?" Ben asked, throwing an empty flask to the sea.

"Yes. It will cure your wound."

"I suppose those vagrants from the bushes are good for something, at least." Ben muttered.

" _Dirthara'ma,_ Ben! That's my mother you're talking about! _"_

Ben looked at Sayo, and then at his wound. He cursed something under his breath and said:" Alright. Whatever you say."

" _Mala suledin anas._ Now you must endure. Go and take a rest." Sayo said, walking away, looking at the island which became smaller as the ship sailed towards Orlais.

Few hours after, Ben still restlessly paced across the deck, back and forth. Sayo tried his best to convince him to sleep, and Ben finally caved in, retreating to his chamber. After all that exertion, dark-skinned half-elf needed some fresh air. As he got to the main deck, he noticed Damien looking at the horizon with a grim look upon his face.

He recalled Damien's encounter with a darkspawn, and the second encounter which almost took Ben away. If their master didn't wear that 'faggoty silver mail', as Ben used to call it, he would be dead. Sayo knew how much their master meant to Damien – he was like a father to him.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine. How's the old fart?"

"He will live… at least for now. Truthfully, I don't know if he's got a blight disease, or not."

"Too bad. I hoped that old fart will finally kick a bucket." Damien said, but his voice showed a concern. Afterwards, they stayed on the main deck, gazing at the silent distance.

The dawn broke out, carrying the sound of the distant seagulls and the murmur of waves. In the distance, they could see Val Royeux with its golden domes, blue roofs and gleaming, marble buildings. When the ship finally reached docks, Damien was so thrilled that he jumped all around the harbour.

"Land! Oh sweet land, I missed you so much!"

Sayo helped Ben with his luggage. As Sayo reckoned, old man was weak, even after the rest. His skin was pale, with sunken eyes and he looked even older than before.

"Damien! Come here!" Ben yelled, but his voice broke and he coughed. He tried yelling again, but in the end, it fell to Sayo to get Damien's attention.

"Listen to me, and listen closely. People we're about to meet are very, very dangerous. One wrong step, one wrong word and they will slit your throats while you sleep. So I'm asking you as sincerely as I can: behave yourself! Remember The Game. Never say what's on your mind. Never reveal your true motivation to the other players. " Ben said, having a worried look upon his tired face. Worry didn't suit him – they've never seen him like this. Ben took Sayo to the side, whispering:

"As for you Sayo. You will make sure he behaves! If he does anything stupid, you have my permission to stab him."

"With pleasure, master." Sayo happily replied on this gruesome task and almost burst into laughter when he saw frightened look on Damien's face.


	2. Bards and Crows

Val Royeux opened itself in front of their eyes, rising in grandeur with smell of apple orchards, cheap wine, perfume and brine. Colourful flag pennant banners rose above their heads, mixing their blue, red, yellow and white with the colours of azure roofs and marble walls. The cleanness of town was almost shocking compared to Antivan slums where they lived. Damien stepped carefully, worrying he will somehow spoil the clean marble where they walked.

Looking down, he didn't even notice a woman standing at the end of the alley with statues.

„Oh, Benjamin! You finally arrived! " she had a feminine voice with a strong Orlesian accent. Woman had a raven hair, feminine hips, swinging here and there as she walked, approaching them with a fake, learned smile.

„My, my, but you do look terrible, old friend! And your moustache, oh, it turned grey!"

„Marjolaine." Ben did not look happy to see her.

Damien's eyes were filled with tears as he was trying to suppress a dire need to laugh. „Orlesian accent is absolutely insane." he tried to whisper as quiet as possible. Sayo was amused by the accent too.

„And who are these young, charming boys?" She asked looking at Damien and Sayo. Damien didn't like her gaze. It was a frivolous stare and it sent shivers through his spine. He felt as if she thinks he's absolutely beneath her.

„These are my companions. Damien and Sayo." Ben replied.

„Rivaini, indeed? And an elf? How quaint. It takes all sorts." Marjolaine cynically said, inspecting Sayo's facial tattoos.

„Technically, I'm a half-elf." Sayo answered. Marjolaine didn't answer. Silence lasted for a second, before Ben interrupted it.

„Yeah, yeah. Enough with the prattle. What did you call me for?" Ben was really annoyed by that woman. His cheeks turned red.

„No, no, Benjamin. Where are your manners? You already forget what I taught you?" At the last sentence, she chuckled since it made Ben's face red like those banners above their heads.

„Come. I will introduce you to my associates. "

„ _Come. I will introduce you to my associates._ " Damien repeated comically, trying to repeat the heavy, Orlesian accent. He failed, and Sayo barely suppressed his laughter.

„Damien!" Ben heard their chuckle and gave them „a look".

As they walked the crowded square, Damien couldn't shake of the feeling of being watched. And he really didn't like the aura surrounding this snippy, raven-haired woman.

„Do you have a strange feeling that we're being watched, or is it just me? "Damien asked his elven friend, looking around the bazaar.

„I just wanted to ask you the same question. I don't like this place."

Sayo started to wonder why they're here. How did Ben and that woman know each other? Who is this woman anyway?

„Here we are. Home sweet palace. " Marjolaine said as they stopped in front of a giant house. „Please, make yourself at home. "

Now, Orlesian houses usually had a feeling of grandeur, but this place… it was much more than that. It looked as if somebody took a typical Orlesian palace, and then did his best to make it as kitschy as possible. It was a _haute couture_ of architecture, useless but ultimately made to show a status of the one who owned it. As they passed the azure doors, they saw two people standing and chatting in a hallway.

„This is... Tug." she stood by a stocky, red-haired dwarf.

"Hello." Tug said, in his usually taciturn way.

„This is our dear mage, Sketch." Short elven mage with a friendly smile raised his hand in greeting.

„And this pretty thing is Leliana."

„A pleasure to meet you." Leliana courteously answered.

 _"Oh shit_." Sayo thought. The moment he saw a beautiful redhead he didn't even need to look at his friend. He knew Damien is probably staring at her like a dog at the piece of dangling beef, forgetting everything Ben told him about these people. One glance was enough to confirm that thought. Damien was paralyzed, he did not even blink, he was looking at Leliana with „is this a dream" stare. Leliana noticed, and smiled with a corner of her mouth, and Sayo got worried his friend might suffer a heart-attack from too much excitement.

„This is my old friend Benjamin. And these are his companions Sayo, the elf, and Damien."

" _Half-_ elf." Sayo corrected her, at the same time bumping his elbow in Damien's ribs to wake him up.

„What? Yes! Damien. That is my name...I think. " He didn't even try to come back to the real world.

„Idiot! Behave yourself or I swear, I will cut your balls off and wear them as a lucky charm!" Sayo was annoyed how dumb his dear friend was. Leliana laughed.

„Balls… what balls? Are we at a ball room? Oh, my balls? Yes, it is...Sayo?" Damien finally turned his eyes to his friend.

„What?"

„I think I started to like Orlais."

Sayo pressed a palm over his elven facial features.

Raven-haired woman led them through spacious hallways, leading with a brisk step. Sayo and Damien helped Ben, who felt fatigued after such a fast walk. What made it even worse is that the house was rather large. When they finally reached the room, Ben had a painful expression on his face and the sweat rolled down his forehead.

"This is your room." Marjolaine exclaimed as she stopped in front of the big doors. "I hope it's suitable that all three of you share one room."

"It's fine. Just let me rest." Ben cut her short as he rushed inside. It looked like he wanted her to leave, as soon as possible. Conniving woman just smiled with amusement.

"Please, feel free to ask if there's anything you need. Our cooks have already prepared a lunch, and we shall discuss our business while we eat."

As soon as the door were closed, Sayo flamed at Damien.

"You are such an arsetard!" he yelled.

"What? Why?" Damien was shocked by his outburst.

"Why? You ask why? Ben told you to be careful with this people, and as soon as there is a woman with red hair…"

"And beautiful blue eyes…" Damien said more to himself, making a dreamy face.

"You were acting like a horny dog, about to hump on anything!" Sayo was really annoyed.

"Oh, please. Even you would hump her!"

Sayo made a pause, as if he is considering it. "No, I would not."

Ben coughed, trying to yell but the words choked in his throat. When he finally cleared it out, Ben yelled: "Will you two stop?! Come here, you lazy maggots! We need to talk." Ben who was so weak he could barely sit right, couldn't take their silly argument. "Come closer." He whispered.

"Why are we whispering?" Damien was confused.

"Silence, boy. Here in Val Royeux, even the walls have ears. Damien, listen to me. I know she's a beauty, but don't do anything stupid, hear me? She's Marjolaine's property!"

"Property? What do you mean, _property?_ She's a person, not a freakin' mongrel!" Damien was offended by that word.

 _"_ You're the only mongrel here." Sayo whispered.

"Marjolaine considers people her pawns, toys to have fun with. She uses them as she pleases, manipulates with them to do her bidding, and then when she's… bored, she just removes them."

Both Sayo and Damien realized how removing doesn't mean evicting them from their homes.  
After a minute of uncomfortable silence, Sayo spoke out.

"Who is that woman anyway? How do you know each other?"

Benjamin stopped for a moment, as if he was remembering something. His eyes became somehow vacant as he stared in the distance.

"I had a job here, in this damned city. I met her, and I was smitten by her, as much as you were with that redhead, Damien. It didn't take us long to become lovers. After one whiskey-filled night, she tugged on my chest and whispered to my ear, making a wish which made my blood freeze. She wanted me to kill her husband. Of course, I packed my stuff and left. Bitch was insane. Later, I've found out her husband was murdered and some unfortunate lout was caught and executed. She would have done the same to me…" he said, cursing himself for being so young and stupid. "That woman is a snake. She's a conniving devil, and don't ever fall into her game. Don't trust anyone. We do our job, we take the money and leave."

He started painfully coughing. Sayo rushed to his medicine bag, taking some of the potions out, giving one of them to Ben.

"Here. This should give you enough strength to endure the lunch." Sayo said, helping an old man to take a sip. Ben made a disgusted face. All that time, Damien was sitting on the floor, anxiously looking at his master.

Ben felt better after taking a potion, and they went to the dining room. The table was huge, loaded with colourful dishes. There was a nug-meat, druffalo chops, fine wines, and at the middle of a table there was a baked halla calf, with a gorgeous looking apple in its mouth. Its silver horns glittered under the lights of a chandelier. Damien and Sayo never saw something like that. Servant elves, visiting dwarven dignitaries and humans sat by the table next to each other. Marjolaine stood at the head of the table.

"Our dear guests. Please sit. Eat as much as you can." She said showing them the empty chairs on the left side of the table.

"Fancy food…" Damien smirked. To him it is all a waste of effort. Food should be just for eating, it shouldn't look nice. One of the elves sitting close to him heard his complain, and said:" While I sorely enjoy fancy dinners, halla calf might be too much for me. It's an offense to every proud elf, no? What kind of food do you cook in Antiva?" elf asked, judging his homeland by his accent.

"Well, my friendly elf. We just take everything we have, we throw it into the pot, and then we cook it until it turns pasty and brown."

He answered before he even noticed it wasn't an elf at all, but Leliana who asked the question. She was sitting right across him. He felt like someone punched him in the stomach. Leliana laughed out loud at his answer.

"You can't be serious?" She said with the voice full of amusement.

"Um…well…"

"He's joking. Ignore him." Sayo said, saving his friend from embarrassing himself even more. Damien dove right into a plate of fish fillet and potatoes; his nose was digging through the food as he tried hard to ignore the beautiful woman sitting across the table.

"Is this your first time in Orlais?" She asked, obviously entertained by Damien's behaviour. He carefully raised his head, staring at her with confused, dumb face, with bits of food sticking to his face.

"Um…no."

"We were in Val Firmin and Churneu." Sayo jumped into saving his friend once more.

Leliana nodded and smiled at his answer, continuing to entertain herself with teasing Damien with questions on which he replied with short, insecure answers.

"You don't look like any elf I saw before." A question came from the brown haired elf sitting across Sayo, presented by a name Sketch.

"That's because I'm a half elf." Sayo almost spat the answer, annoyed when people picked on his mixed features. He didn't expect a gleaming smile on elf's face.

"Really?! Oh! That's rare! I've never seen a half elf before! Pray tell me, why do you have such a dark skin and pale eyes?"

"I'm from Rivain." Sayo said, insecure whether he should say it or not.

"Yes? I've heard Rivain is amazing!" Sketch said with a little bit too much excitement.

Sayo's eyes darkened, and he stabbed a fork right into a bloody meat on his platter.

"Yes." He said, making another stab at a fleshy meat. "Amazing." He continued, stabbing the meat another time. "It's full of pirates… " he stabbed, "Pirates that rape and steal," a bit of blood poured out of the meat." And so called gipsy seers that earn their money with lies, and…" he felt Damien's foot pounding on his.

 _He's right. I shouldn't say too much._

Sayo thought, as he cursed his own stupidity. Although Rivain was, indeed, his birth place, he hated the people who lived there. The only thing about Rivain he liked was a country itself. Walks through the nature, feeling of oneness with God who resided in rivers, murky creeks and pale blue skies with no clouds, taking showers under the waterfall early in the morning.

At the same time, Ben tried his best not to show his weakness. He didn't talk to anyone, although Marjolaine tried enticing him with sweet words. He would always reply with a few words, trying to keep a distance.

"Can we just talk about our job, please?!" Ben finally had enough. As he started to turn pale again, Sayo noticed black spots on his cheeks and his throat. He indeed had a blight plague. He leaned towards Damien and whispered: „Distract them as much as you can. She must not see Ben is hurt."

His blushed, tortured friend nodded.

"Oh, you're right, my sweet Benjamin, of course. But not here. Please, join me in a living room for some lovely cinnamon tea and wine." She stood up, swinging her hips while she walked pass the table. Ben followed her first, while Sayo and Damien followed in his steps.

"Leliana, Sketch, you two will join us." Marjolaine ordered them, seductively touching Leliana's hip as she walked by.

Wave of jealousy struck Damien. He looked to his friend and whispered:"I really, really hate that woman!"

"Keep that to yourself, dickhead."

Flames of the passion rose above the stage where servant elves danced dressed in corsets and pink feathers. Damien stared at them, and every time they raised a leg he would shuffle in his chair, as if something between his legs is really tickling him. Chandeliers threw glittering lights across the room, and Marjolaine sat upon a table, nodding for others to join her. She looked at the group around the table for a moment – Young, passionate redhead Leliana, slim, childlike elf Sketch, grim dark-skinned dwarf Tug, Sayo, Damien and finally, Ben.

"You must know I've called you here for a reason. So, was my staff accommodating?" she asked, smiling. Damien opened his mouth but Ben swiftly shut him up with a kick in the shin. Ben cleared his throat and said:"Of course, Marjolaine. They were most accommodating and kind."

"Ah, that's good. I've been… worried." She said, looking at the servant who swiftly cleaned the room, avoiding her penetrating gaze.

" _Why did you do it?"_ Damien whispered to his mentor, as Marjolaine opened a map of the city on the table.

 _"We're not going to give her any reason to kill any of those servants."_

 _"She would do that?!"_ Damien whispered, shocked.

" _Of course she would, idiot! She's just waiting for a good reason!"_

Marjolaine raised her eyes and two men promptly shut up, waiting for her to start explaining the job.

"This is where we are now." She said, with her strong Orlesian accent, pointing at the location on the map.

"And this is where you're going to go." She said, drawing a line with her long, elegant finger across the map, all the way towards the border of a map. Letters written on the location said:"The Alienage."

"The Alienage?" Sayo asked. Sketches eyes squinted.

"Yes, the Alienage. My informants have told me that in the ten years, rule of Empress Celene might end. Her brother, Duke Gaspard de Chalons might overthrow her, and there are even some rumors that Briala, her handmaid, might try to do the same thing. They've already started moving their pawns. It's time for me to move my own pawns…"

She said, taking bone figurines out of a pouch. She put a smaller and a bigger figure on the table.

"Tug, you and Ben will go and find Empress Celene's men. They're usually parading around the palace. Slay them. Take their armour and weapons. You will need two armours and weapons."

She pushed figurines away to the random side of a map, taking other two.

"Here is where my two other teams come. Leliana and Damien, you two will use bows with fire arrows to burn the roofs and stalls of the Alienage. After a panic ensues, elves will be running out. Sayo and Sketch, you two will go inside the Alienage, dressed as Celene's men, and kill as many elves as you can. Pick the children first, then old men and women, and then adults."

A silence fell upon the room. Sayo and Sketch stared at Marjolaine's calm face in disbelief.

"Marjolaine, beg your pardon, but I've lived in the Alienage. That's my family there!" Sketch uttered. Marjolaine gave him a stare which was both scary, confident and psychotic at the same time, so he simply looked down, completely defeated.

"Any other complaints?" Marjolaine asked. Sayo raised his head.

"Is there a reason for murdering so many elves, Marjolaine?" he asked.

"Oh, Empress Celene loves her elves. Even her lover is an elf. If the rumour how her men murdered a whole alienage breaks out, it will put her down a peg or two. And then… I will appear, speaking for the rights of the elves. Elves of Orlais will support me in the future. And nobles will be happy that the foul stench of that place will finally leave the city."

"When are we starting?" Damien asked, trying to get Marjolaine's attention. Sayo's dark skin turned dark red from anger. Squeeze of his fists was so hard, they started to shake. He noticed Leliana was also shocked by the psychotic plan, but she didn't say a word.

"Tonight. When the town is asleep."


	3. Flaming Night

**A/N:** Since people are actually reading this I should point some thing out, I guess.

We'll try our best to update chapters every week. Please feel free to leave a review, it would help us a lot to improve our writing. PMs are also welcome, if you have any questions about this story feel free to ask.

Thank you all for reading!

* * *

"What the fuck was that?!" Sayo raged as soon as they entered their room. Ben collapsed on bed, coughing so hard Damien thought he will cough his lungs out.

Man took a raspy breath, trying to speak.

"I know… this…is insane. But we… must do this… or we will die." He barely uttered, cough choking him.

"I don't care! Listen, we can't just slaughter hundreds of elves!" Sayo yelled, nervously walking around the room. It took every ounce of his will not to break anything.

"I agree with Sayo. We are assassins. Killin' few men, women, even children wasn't a problem but… this is not an assassination. This is a massacre." Damien said.

His first job involved killing a pregnant woman. As he plunged a blade into her womb, he didn't feel a thing but this was different. Even assassins have some dignity in their job.

"And for the love of Maker, give him something, he's dying!" he yelled at Sayo who didn't notice old man's choking. Ashamed, Sayo rushed to grab some healing herbs he left on the table. Few moments later, old man was breathing again and fell asleep. Sayo and Damien sat down, each on the other side of a canopy bed, both deep in the thoughts about this job.

Damien couldn't just sit and do nothing anymore, so he got up and started to walk circles around the room. It didn't take him long to get bored by this pointless activity. Walking towards the door, he turned towards Sayo.

"I'm going out. Please, watch the old man. Don't do anything stupid." He muttered, still angry.

"Fine. Leave. I don't care." Sayo didn't even look at him.

As soon as dark haired Fereldan opened the door, the air left his lungs, making his knees weak and wobbly. Beautiful redhead with hypnotic blue eyes, dressed in leather armour was standing in front of him with a raised fist, as if she was about to knock.

"Oh! Hello!" She was surprised her plan of knocking had failed. "I just wanted to check if…If you friend, Benjamin if I recall, is alright. I noticed he wasn't feeling well."

"Yes. He ate some bad clams while we were traveling and now he's shitting and vomiting all around. Trust me, you don't want to go inside." He didn't even know how on earth, considering who he was talking to, he managed to make up this lie.

"Huh, I know how that feels. Once I ate bad clams and I was sick for days." Obviously, that was a lie. They both just stood at the door, with the silence becoming more and more awkward.

"Will you make up your fucking mind? Get in, or get out!" Sayo's rage was so frightening, he just jumped out of the room and slammed the door. Honestly, Damien feared for his own life.

"Isn't he grumpy?" Leliana tried to make Damien feel better since he was anxiously standing in front of the doors.

"Yeah. He is kind 'a mad 'cause it was his job to clean Ben's crap." He knew Leliana wasn't convinced, not even a little bit.

They were walking around the palace and the lush, emerald garden for the rest of a day, talking about his weak beard, his fumbling Antivan accent. Leliana even talked about her Fereldan-born mother, simultaneously trying to find out about his past that he declined to share. Most of the time she was teasing him, making him feel uncomfortable, but she gave him a good advice about how to grow a beard: "If you shave it more often, it will grow faster and become thicker." He just loved her sweet, delicate Orlesian accent, and felt his heart falling for her more and more with every passing moment. And then, as the sun was slowly setting, they went to prepare for a "massacre".

The grim atmosphere surrounded a group of six. Ben felt better again after he slept for hours and drank some of Sayo's potions. Sayo and Damien donned their dark leather armour, covering their nose and mouth with a black wrap. It was their lucky charm. Damien gripped his short bow made out of oak, a present from Sayo, bought for his birthday from some elven woodworker. The night was calm, stars and moon as candle lights on the sky, while the wind carried the everlasting summer warmth of Orlais. This beautiful, warm night soon would soon be filled with panic, screams and blood of a thousand elves.

"Let's get this over with!" Ben turned towards the way to the empire palace. Tug, surprised by old man's sudden loud act, waved to his companions and ran to his team partner. Damien looked at Sayo. He was pale, and his usually calm silver eyes now had a strange, anxious gaze.

"Good luck." He couldn't find any other words to comfort him. He and Leliana headed towards the high tower, at the northern side of The Alienage. Sayo and Sketch remained alone.

"Sayo? We must…"

"Go. I know." A half elf and an elf nervously started to walk towards the shack where they were supposed to meet old man and the dwarf.

On the other side, Leliana and Damien reached the high tower. It was a round, enormous structure made of grey stone. It looked empty and abandoned, with decaying mortar covered in moss. They stood below its flat, endless wall and admired how amazingly large it was. From where they stood, walls climbed up the clouds, reminding on some old fairy tales.

"This reminds me on one story I've heard, about a magical bean." Leliana uttered, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"Bean or not bean, I will climb." Damien answered with thrilled tone. He loved climbing so much, but he never got the chance to climb on something this big.

"Climb…?" In the blink of an eye Damien rushed towards the grey giant, grabbing where mortar decayed to climb his way up with amazing speed and dexterity. "What the…?" She never saw anything like it. It was like he shapeshifted into spider. She decided to break inside the tower and climb from the inside.

It took him five minutes, but Damien finally reached the top, and for a second he was stunned by the view.

" _Maker's sweaty, hairy balls! How the fuck thousands of elves fit in there?"_ thought crossed his mind.

All in all, Alienage was nothing he had imagined. Its size could measure with Denerim's market. Below his legs it formed a small circle, with a number of wooden houses built atop each other, making a creaky, tall wooden structure. Damien tried, but couldn't count their number since they almost reached the top of a tower where he stood. Night was dark and quiet, yet deep below his legs elves celebrated something, unaware of the horror soon to be unleashed upon them.

Heavy trapdoor creaked and clanked behind him. Adrenaline kicked in, he turned around in a flash of the second but let a sigh of relief when he saw a lock of red hair and mischievous blue eyes. Leliana, breathless, placed hands on her knees to catch some air.

"Seems like climbing big things takes your breath away." He finally had some reason to tease her for a change.

"How in the Maker's name can you climb so fast?" she breathlessly uttered. He felt victorious about impressing her with his skill.

"I just love climbing. Call it a hobby."

"Are there any other hobbies you do incredibly fast?" She asked him with a smirk on her face, and the look that made clear what she meant.

" _This bitch will never stop teasing_!" Damien thought as he felt his cheeks slowly turning red. "I'm a man of many surprises." He chuckled.

"In my line of work, I never leave room for surprises." she said, tilting her head, raising an eyebrow. As she playfully caressed his chest, he responded by placing an arm on her shoulder, but she just smiled and pushed an unlit lantern into his other hand.

"We have a job to do." She mused. Damien let out a sigh, crouching and starting to light a tavern. There was a certain bulge on his crotch he tried hard to hide, but it was hard to do. Both prepared bows and arrows, awaiting the signal. As they waited, horny, humorous mood disappeared. However, the waiting went longer than they thought. Damien and Leliana crouched in silence.

"So… how did you spend your day?" he asked her.

"It was… fine." She said, flashing an awkward smile.

" _Where did that idiotic old man fuck up this time?!"_ Damien thought. Just as the thought crossed his mind, sound of the whistle tore the night apart – signal they've been waiting for. Flame on the arrows lit their faces and they let them fly with a smoking whiff. Arrows traced a fiery line through the darkness, brandishing itself upon the uppermost thatched roof. Elves continued celebrating, unaware of the fire upon their roofs. First screams ringed from below not too long afterwards.

* * *

Sayo and Sketch took armours from unconscious guards. It took them several minutes to cut surplus straps and adjust armours enough to feel comfortable wearing them. They've entered the Alienage through the main doors, to onlookers being a simple pair of guards, usual sight in this area. Compared to the rosy grandeur of Val Royeux, its Alienage was completely different.

Thousands upon thousands elves lived in the area size of Denerim's market. Elves here would probably step over each other had they not built their homes upwards. Effectively, Alienage raised to the sky, instead of on the ground like everywhere else. Tonight, creaky wooden structure was full of laughter and song.

First of Umbralis traditionally marked Satinalia, the holiday accompanied by celebration, the wearing of masks, and naming the town fool as ruler for a day. Now, elf with just one teeth proudly paraded on the walkway, laughing with a crown upon his head, while others followed him in their crudely carved, badly painted masks, banging on makeshift drums, cheering and singing merrily.

"Sketch… look. They're happy." Sayo muttered, looking upon the sorry visage through the helmet of his armour. He remembered Satinalia in Antiva. It would last for a week, following with a week of fasting. Sayo would never fast – he never put any stock in the traditional Andrastian beliefs. In his country, Satinalia was still an ancient, pagan festival, as it usually was.

"Sayo, eyes on the job." Sketch said, raising a visor of the helmet that clanked, obviously too big for his head. Sayo raised his visor, turning to Sketch.

"But this is a holiday. They're happy. Sketch, what are we doing?" Sayo asked, with a dread in his voice.

"Yes, it would seem so. Anyway, we wait until Leliana and Damien shoot those flaming arrows."

"So… we're still going with the plan?" Sayo asked. A group of elven children danced in a circle, singing traditional Satinalia songs.

"Of course we are! If we don't do this, Satinalia will also become the anniversary of your death! Marjolaine isn't forgiving!" Sketch burst out, noticing Sayo's resolve weakening.

"I won't bail out." Sayo said as his eyes darkened and he lowered a visor.

Crouching in the shadow they observed the celebration going on and on. Leliana and Damien were really… slow. Sayo worried Damien might have done something stupid. That dumb Fereldan oaf would always find an opportunity to have sex. Yet, this oaf was his friend so he kept being patient. Damien's an idiot, but he always respects his word. A group of elves took some smuggled fireworks, lightning them, and they exploded in the sky above their heads, making a beautiful rainbow coloured dragon in the sky. Children cheered, jumping and trying to catch the beast.

 _Freedom, freedom, we will have a freedom!_

Chant rang out through the night, yell full of longing for salvation from eyes which suddenly looked at the world with hope. Sayo remembered the Alienage in Llomeryn, town where he was born. Elves have lived poorer life, but they were proud. Inside of their walled-off community, they had a town where they worked, had a legitimate trade and actually prospered. These elves were treated worse than dogs.

When the visage of a dragon faded away, elves continued their celebration. Sayo was already bored of waiting. Where was that idiot? Just as he resolved to stand up and turn away, suddenly something flickered on the battlement of a northern wall. Flicker of light travelled fast, towards the thatched roof of the highest building.

 _Freedom, freedom, we will have a freedom!_

The building suddenly burst into flames. As if the dragon suddenly became real, thatched roof and the buildings brought together by sticky oil, rags and ropes burned like a candle. Elves, engrossed in the celebration, didn't even notice a flame licking from the top of the higher most building until they've heard a scream coming from the elves trapped on the highest level.

"Fire! Alienage is on fire!" a man who started yelling screamed, and suddenly a panic ensued. Everyone around started yelling, trying to jump up the walls, but they were caged like animals. Large building, already built on the shaky foundation, suddenly cracked with a mighty sound and the top fell upon elves trying to escape the fire. The fire caught buildings on the hinge of an alienage, and even they started burning.

"Daddy!" one elven kid screamed, trying to pull her unconscious father below the burning wood. Sayo yelled, letting an animalistic scream as he ran towards a little girl, unsheathing daggers to cut her down. Girl turned towards him, eyeing him with sad, big brown eyes as the tears rolled down her chin.

"Will you help me get my daddy out, sir?" she asked, taking Sayo's arm. Sketch had run around, setting the rest of the buildings on flame, not even noticing Sayo's actions. Suddenly, Sayo wasn't here anymore. He was in front of his home in Llomeryn, such a long time ago. His mother bled out on the floor in front of his eyes. Sayo understood why her pants were pulled down, he knew she was dying, but couldn't save her.

 _"_ _Mommy, please don't leave me! Help! Somebody help me!"_ he screamed, holding her hand as she died. Fragrant scent of lavender filled his nose, the way she would always smell but her skin became cold and stiff like a hard-boiled leather. He screamed until his throat became hoarse, but nobody listened. Maybe, if somebody was there to help his mother, perhaps he would never become an assassin. Perhaps he wouldn't be bought by Antivan Crows, after a childhood of forced crime.

"Sir, why are you crying?" girl asked, holding his hand tighter. Sayo couldn't suppress his tears.

"Fuck…" Sayo said, rubbing the tears from his eyes. He jumped down, taking a fiery log from an unconscious man, dragging him to safety.

"Do you have a water supply here?!" Sayo asked. Girl was overjoyed because he saved her father, and she hugged him so earnestly, his heart melted.

"It's there! Granny and Grandpa are there, look! They're trying to get the water out of the well!"

Sketch suddenly paused, and his eyes were panicked. He ran towards Sayo, raising his visor.

"You idiot! You moron! You bag of dog… fleas! Bacteria on the flea! She will kill us, oh Maker, we are so dead!" Sketch panicked.

"I don't care. I'm not a Crow anymore."

Sketch placed both hands on his head and stared with disbelief as he yelled: "Are you out of your mind?!"

"Look at those people, Sketch! Look at them! That could have been you! How can you kill your own kin?!" Sayo yelled, grabbing his collar.

"You… I… FINE! You're right! I don't want to kill them!"

"Then help me save them! By the dawn, we'll be long gone!"

Sketch nodded.

Sketch and Sayo were strongest elves in the Alienage, owing to the fact that rest of them were weak from hunger or sickness. If there wasn't for them, Alieange would burn to the ground and flames would kill the rest of the elves. Sayo threw the water from the buckets along with the rest of the elves.

Sketch summoned a huge rainstorm, and even while the water would cause the flame to burst even higher, Sayo's effort to keep it in check made it small enough. In an hour, rainstorm doused the last of the flames, but Alienage was destroyed. Many elves lied dead beneath the rubble. However, great many of them have survived, and they yelled triumphantly, happy that at least they have survived to see the next day.

"Tell me that we did the right thing, Sayo." Sketch muttered.

"It will be alright. I've never felt so alive, Sketch." Sayo said, taking the helmet off. Sketch took his helmet away as well.

"You know, if you were a girl I would totally have a crush on you." Sketch earnestly said.

"If I were a girl, I wouldn't mind it." Sayo smiled.

"Gay." Sketch laughed.

"Hey, if there's a hole, there's a way." Sayo answered, which made Sketch laugh even harder.

They've heard the iron bars of the Alienage walls raising with a creaking sound.

"You're here! Thank the Maker!" they've heard Leliana's voice. Damien followed her.

"Have you managed to do the task?"

Sayo and Sketch looked at them.

"We will have to run away." Sayo said.

Damien and Leliana stared at them with disbelief, which grew even bigger when they realized how they blades are unbloodied, while elves celebrate in happiness.

"I… you… saved them?!" Leliana yelled, in shock.

"Yes, we did. Where are Tug and Ben?"

"They're in the hideout. As they stripped the armours, one guard noticed and Tug smashed his skull with a hammer, not even caring whether he'll be noticed. Some other guard raised an alarm, so they hid as soon as they brought you the equipment." Leliana said, still staring at the scene with disbelief.

"So that's why the signal was late. Holy shit… And it was you who did it, Sayo? I would never, in my wildest dreams, think that you would…" Damien said.

"Betray the Crows? Well, I just did. We have just made a very powerful enemy, didn't we?"

"Oh no. No, no, no. Don't count ME in this! You two brought this on yourself!" Damien yelled.

"Damien!" Ben, who followed from behind, yelled.

"But Master, he had just betrayed the Crows!"

"You're both my students. If he messed up, I messed up and you messed up as well. You will not turn your back on him, am I clear?!"

"Yes, Master." Damien said, clenching his fist.

Throughout the year, weather in Val Royeux remained warm. Thus, even at the eleventh month of the year, where the nation celebrated Satinalia, Orlais nights still retained the familiar summer warmth. It lulled Sayo, drunk on the instant fame granted by saving the elves of the Alienage. Their small band had just passed the Alienage doors, going through the empty night street, when somebody stepped on the road in front of them.

"My my, Leliana. I'm very disappointed."

A familiar voice with the Orlesian accent. One of the guardsmen came close, and his torch lit Marjolaine's conniving face.

"Marjolaine!" Leliana gasped.

"Come now, my dear. You haven't really thought you could hide what you just did?"

Marjolaine seemed really calm, all things considered, but even a feverish Ben noticed it was just an act. In fact, knowing her, she was boiling inside, raging with deep anger.

"We haven't done nothing, Marjolaine!" Leliana tried hiding the truth.

"The Game is not played on the street, my sweet Leliana. Lies won't help you here. But I know, my dear, that you're not the one at fault." she said, turning her gaze towards Sayo, Damien and Ben. It immediately became cold.

"Antivan Crows... so fiercely loyal to their employers, until another employer offers more money or fame. But I expected a dagger in the back. You know no sweet, enticing song other than the call of warm blood." Marjolaine said, looking at Sayo. Sayo froze in his footsteps, resigned to waiting for his fate. Marjolaine turned her gaze towards Damien, and it became a little bit softer, albeit still cold. She took a step closer, sniffing the air.

"I never understood you Fereldans. How can you remain in that cold, muddy, smelly land? Even now I can smell the stench of a wet dog on you. But dogs will hump anything, as long as it walks. Ugh. And I let you work with my sweet Leliana? Poor girl. Rest assured, I will keep her safe." she toyed with Damien's emotions. Ben tugged on the back of his hand, showing him to keep his cool, but he could see just how angry Damien was.

"And you... my old friend. Once I had a respect for you. But I should have known you will remain a spineless coward until the very end. It's only appropriate then, that a coward raises cowards. Chain them. I want these Crows out of my street, tonight. As for you, my sweet thing..." she approached Leliana, tipping her chin with her elegant finger. "... I'll give you one more chance. You, Sketch and Tug will come with me. We have a very important job to do."


	4. Gains and Losses

As she promised, she did. Marjolaine's thugs chained Sayo, Damien and Ben, throwing them into a stone, cold prison. Underneath Val Royeux, even a warm air refused to stay for a long time. Thus, these walls almost emanated the chill which seeped into the bones, as if the spirits of those who were killed or died here remained, haunting the place forever. And really, first night when the jailor put manacles around their wrists, they've spent the restless night listening to moaning cries coming from the depths of the prison, unsure whether they belong to ghosts or other jailors, slowly dying as their voices became quieter and quieter.

"Hey, Sayo..." Damien muttered.

"Huh?" Sayo asked, feeling his lids getting heavy, even with the manacles painfully cutting into his wrists.

"Do you think I will see her again?" he asked. Sayo felt his heart wracking with grief. He took Damien's life away, and Ben was already dying – he might not survive the next day.

"I'm so sorry, Damien." Sayo said.

"It's alright, friend. We've lead a good life, didn't we? I suppose I'll come back to haunt her." Damien laughed.

"I suppose we did at that. Hey, if you return to haunt her, might I join you? I fear the afterlife might be boring without a good friend by my side."

"Of course you can. Don't disturb me when I peek on her while she... nevermind." he let out a sigh.

"Can you idiots just shut up...?" Ben painfully muttered.

The night stretched long. It seemed as if the dawn will never come. All the while, smell of rotting meat permeated the room. Up until now, they were in the room along with some noble who quietly sobbed all the time. Now, guards burst into the room, roughly unshackling his hands only to drag him out of the room as he cried, kicked and screamed. Sayo recognized a face of the minor noble he saw at the table, at the dinner at Marjolaine's palace. His screams became quieter and quieter, until the doors slammed shut, turning them into muffled sounds.

"Hey, do you think they'll do this to us?" Damien asked.

"Gods, I hope not! They're torturing him, you dolt."

"Torturing?!"

"By all the gods..." Sayo would facepalm himself, if he could.

After another hour of waiting, dawn had slowly started breaking, illuminating the small cell. Only now, Sayo noticed they shared their room with two more residents. However, those residents were already dead, one of them just a skeleton, hanging from his manacles. It still wore a dwarven chain mail with an eye on the chestplate, hanging above its dirty, white ribs, with heavy boots on the legs. As if it tried speaking, skull's jaw dropped and a rat scurried out, disappearing through the iron bars. Another inmate was a bit fresher, although it explained a constant smell of rot.

Corpse was blue, green and grey, with bloated appendages and eyes already rotten in the skull. Its mouth hanged open in horror, staring across the room with a creepy glare which somehow reminded on some macabre painting. It was completely naked, and its penis bitten off, carried across the room by some rat who probably considered it too chewy since it was left to rot just as the corpse.

"Look, this guy got dickchewed." Damien concluded.

As the dawn broke out a fat guardsman opened the door. He looked at the prisoners, writing something on the clipboard.

"Damien, Sayo et Rivaini, and Benjamin Clarell." he said, with his monotone bass.

 _"_ _Damien!"_

Damien had heard a whisper above his head. Just as he did, sharply curved, dark dagger fell below his feet, wrapped in a cloth to muffle the fall. He noticed a lock of red hair above mischievous, blue eyes and a glint of an honest smile. She disappeared as soon as the knife hit the ground and when the guard unlocked their manacles Damien swiftly grabbed the dagger, slitting his throat. Guard gargled and dropped the clipboard, while Damien used his keys to chain him in place. He put the armour on, cutting the surplus belts since it was made for guard's obese body. Guard couldn't scream because Damien cut his larynx, and he bled out as Damien unlocked Ben's and Sayo's manacles.

"Who dropped the weapon?" Sayo asked, still confused.

Damien smiled and winked, using a bit of the rope from guard's belt to tie their hands, as if they're his prisoners.

They've walked towards prison exit. Surprisingly, no guard even noticed what happened. Damien took a great deal of care to lock the prison cell. Even if they do notice he reckoned his crew would be long gone. Guards on duty played cards, ignoring the group of misfit escapees. They've reached offices at the end of the hallway, hoping nobody would notice, prepared to run if the shit hit the fan.

As soon as they exited the hallway, one guard posted to guard the main entrance noticed the weird looking guard and two almost naked prisoners.

"Hey, Bertrand, where are you taking those prizzies?" he asked, pointing at two men in ragged clothes. Luckily, he confused Damien for somebody else.

"Prison warden ordered their release to another prison in the city."

His eyes squinted as he read something on the scroll which he carried in his pouch. He looked at their faces, probably remembering every prisoner which came through these doors.

"Damien, Sayo et Rivaini and Benjamin Clarell... they're ordered for an execution tomorrow morning. Why would a warden order their release?" he asked, genuinely confused.

"Warden believes it was a mix-up. These man are very similar to those who were to be executed."

Guard came close to them, examining their hands. There was no mistake about it – every Crow had a tattoo branded in his flesh, just below his wrist. It was a tattoo sacred to every Crow, and he would rather give his life than let somebody cut his arm, or worse, cut the tattoo off his skin. Also, tattoo was unique only to Antivan Crows – commoner who would dare to tattoo it for fun would end up executed. When the guard realized what had happened, he undid the sword and swiftly took it out of its sheath.

"Prisoners are escaping!" he yelled.

Damien didn't wait. He handed a dagger Leliana smuggled in to Sayo, who stabbed a guard that didn't expect a weapon right in the gut. Guard grabbed his stomach and gasped, and Ben, weak as he was, kicked him in the chin. He dropped down unconscious, bleeding from his wound.

The doors behind him opened to another set of rooms, surrounding the outer wall of the underground complex where they got bungled up.

They ran, and the guards were chasing them. Doorway in front of their eyes became wider and wider. Sayo and Damien raised their heads down, pummelling guardsmen in their necks with a brutal precision. They coughed and assassins used their dexterity to jump through the closed doors that fell down under their feet. However, Ben was too exhausted. Old Master tried running through the open doors, but the fatigue caught up with him and he tripped on his feet, losing a momentum. Stunned guards regained their composure and closed off his exit.

"Ben!" Damien screamed.

"You idiot, run!" Sayo yelled, grabbing his hand as they ran away.

Benjamin felt the griping pain in his body, searing through his extremities. His very blood felt as if it was a poison in veins, slowly burning from inside. His eyesight was blurry and he barely saw the open door as he stumbled and got his way cut off. He knew he was dying – it was only a matter of time before his life shut down, and everything he ever was gets replaced by a mad frenzy. He saw ghouls a few times – those unfortunate victims that succumbed to a blight disease. They were alive, but dead at the same time. However, taking his own life scared him.

"No... No... Please, Maker, I don't want to die..." Ben muttered, feeling the dread of upcoming death overtaking him.

"That sod is blighted! Get him out of here!" a dwarven guard, wearing a chestplate with an emblazoned eye, yelled in panic.

"Blighted? Holy Maker, you're right!" another guard who stood guard answered, in panic. A man who was passing by overheard their talk, appearing behind their backs.

"Forgive my insolence, but have I overheard that you have a blighted man in this prison of yours?"

His hair was dark brown, his skin tanned, rugged and scarred. The silver hoop passed through his left ear, and the dark beard around his face somehow accented his eagle stare and beaked nose. He wore a double griffon on his chestplate.

"A Grey Warden? As if things weren't bad enough!" Dwarven guard exclaimed.

"Please, let me pass. I mean none of you any harm." he said. Guards let him go, and he approached feverish Ben, who looked at the man through his blurry eyesight.

"Here. Take this." he said, taking a bit of the medicine, pouring it right into man's mouth. Ben felt the strength instantly returning to him.

"My boys... my boys have left me..." Ben painfully muttered.

"I do not know who you're speaking of. But you're diseased. As you are now, you're a threat to yourself and to the others around you. You're a Master of Antivan Crows, are you not?" he asked, checking the tattoo on his wrist.

"I am. My name is Ben." Ben barely squeezed the words through his hoarse throat.

"And my name is Duncan. I can cure you of your illness, Ben. However, it would mean leaving your old life behind."

"I'm familiar with the Grey Warden doctrine. Fuck it. I'd rather live like a Warden than die in this fucking prison. Besides, my boys have left me."

Duncan extended his arm, helping Ben get up on his stammering legs.

"Then let me officially welcome you in our order, Master of Crows. We're honoured to have you in our ranks."

"You're going to let this guy go?! He murdered a whole alienage full of elves! He killed a guard, and then spat on his corpse as he escaped!" Dwarven guard continued yelling.

"Have I been unclear?" Duncan asked the dwarf.

"I won't let you take him! This criminal will face justice!" he basically foamed from rage.

"Very well. Since you leave me no choice, I will invoke the Right of Conscription and take this prisoner off your hands, despite your objection."

"You can't sodding do this!"

"Yes, I can, and I will. Let's go, Ben. You don't have a lot of time."

Ben leaned on Duncan's hand, dragging his feet, as Duncan led him out of the prison, into the safety.

* * *

Sketch waited eagerly for Duncan's recruit. While Leliana ran to the prison, taking the dagger to prison cell, Sketch prepared a spell to save Ben from an imminent death. Standing in the tavern room, he must have spent an hour weaving the intricate arcane design into a chalice sitting upon the table. It was a very hard spell, and it took him all of the concentration he had to finally manage and create a glyph.

Sketch met Duncan as he entered the tavern, begging Duncan to let him join the order. However, Duncan refused him, saying he doesn't show enough promise, and how he doesn't want to endanger him. When Sketch told him about his friend, Ben, having a blight disease, it piqued Duncan's curiosity so he left for a prison, and Sketch was preparing a spell on a chalice Duncan left, knowing how only the joining ritual will save Ben's life. He also knew Duncan would return for a chalice, taking some experienced mage as a help.

Sketch will show him he's better. He won't toil under Marjolaine's thumb, not anymore.

Duncan returned back to the tavern, leading some bald, tattooed wizard carrying a large staff adorned with dozen jingling bells. When Duncan noticed Sketch panting, sitting upon a bed and chalice already glyphed and ready to use, the look of surprise passed his face.

"You have already finished the magic binding?" Duncan asked.

"Yes! I've told you, I'm experienced enough! I'd be a great asset to your Wardens, right?!" he expectantly yelled. Duncan let out a sigh.

"I'm sorry, young mage. But I do not recruit out of charity. Warden life is dangerous, and believe me, you're safer here than with us."

"Screw safety! I don't want safe! I want a freedom, please, let me come with you!"

"The Warden life can hardly be called a freedom. I will politely refuse. Now, let me concentrate on the Joining. "

"But Warden-"

"Leave this room." Duncan said, and his voice suddenly sounded serious. Sketch muttered something to his chin, leaving the rented room.

Ben's eyes clouded with grey. The life almost faded away from them and only his will had left him alive for such a long time. Duncan didn't even recite the oath. He let Ben lay on the bed, and took the chalice, sipping it into his mouth. Ben swallowed the dark, steaming liquid, coughing like crazy. Suddenly, all the veins in his throat popped out and he started convulsing as his eyes rolled backwards into his skull. After a painful convulsion, Ben coughed again.

"Tastes like fucking shit! What's this?! This is the most awful wine I've ever tasted!"

Duncan laughed, as the look of relief passed his face.

"You're a lively one, indeed. Welcome to the Wardens, Master of the Crows. Prepare your things, we're leaving soon. I've seen what lies on the horizon, and the darkness is spreading. In next two years, we might face the calamity greater than anything this world had ever seen. Until that day comes, you will train under my wing."

"I'm thirsty for some proper wine and cheap bitch, first." Ben said, regaining his appetite and consciousness.

"You might indulge yourself. We have a whole day before we leave."


	5. Maker Works Mysterious Ways

**A/N:** I think at this point things will get interesting, and you will see why ;)

Thank you for reading this story!

Cheers!

* * *

Two fugitives ran as fast as possible, as far as they could. Soon, Val Royeux was far behind them, visible only as a rooftop of Grand Cathedral. They finally stopped running when they reached a lone sand beach. Sayo and Damien breathed heavily; it took them a while to catch their breath. Damien paced back and forth across the small cove. There was nothing but sand, sea, and some tall grass around them, making it impossible to discern where they were or how they got here. Sayo noticed a concern on his face.

"Dam, I..." Damien's fist stole the rest of his sentence. Sayo fell down, holding his left cheek as if it will make the pain go away.

"You stupid, selfish, brain-dead bitch! You didn't just fuck up the job, you have also left Ben to rot in there!" Fereldan had a psychotic look in his eyes. His whole body was shaking from the anger boiling inside of his chest, like a kettle on the stove.

"Left him to rot?! You have run with me and didn't even try to turn back! And now you hit me? Idiot!"

"Don't you dare saying it was my fault!" Damien was even angrier.

"Perhaps it was both of us. Whoever is at fault, blight disease took him over and he would have died either way!"

"You heartless bitch…" he boiled in rage. As Sayo's rage subsided after an outburst, his eyes filled with tears and soon, he started crying. Damien wanted to hit him, but seeing how much it took out of his friend he calmed down, kneeling down to the inconsolable half elf, embracing him in a tight hug.

Sayo started to sob even harder.

"We'll figure this out. I will never leave your side, and you know this." Damien added.

Sobbing calmed down a bit.

"When you cry like this, I'm reminded that you're actually a girl, and it's kind of hot. Please, don't make my dick hard, it would be awkward." He tried to make Sayo feel better with his stupid, childish humor, and it actually helped! Sayo pushed him away and hit him like a child.

"In your dreams, you pervert!"

Soon after, both of them calmed down and it was time to figure where to go. Towards the west, over the mountains in the distance loomed towers and spires of Val Royeux. Returning back was out of question, however and they had no idea how to reach the nearest safe town.

"I think we should just exit this cove and follow the beach. There must be a settlement close by. Fishing village, or whatever." Damien randomly pointed towards the east. However, the pressing issue wasn't just loss of direction. Their feet were bare, light shirts and pants they wore torn apart. Guards stripped their armour down, leaving them only with sword and a dagger, no water and food. The dusk creeped like a predator, hugging the red horizon, announcing the night time. Not only dusk was like a predator – many animals came out only at night, hungry for human meat.

"Let's just move as far as we can from that fucking town." Sayo got up and started walking. Damien looked at his feminine hips and legs, constantly chiding himself.

"Dam? It was Leliana, wasn't it?" Sayo finally asked the question that bugged him ever since they escaped the prison, afraid Damien will lose it if he mentions her.

"Yes." he answered with a slight tone of sadness.

"I hope we will be able to thank her properly, one day."

"We will." Damien said, unsure in his own words. He remembered all the things Ben told them about Marjolaine. His stomach and chest started hurting when he realized that there's a great chance for Leliana, Tug and Sketch to be tortured, then killed – slowly.

They walked for an hour in silence, with the sun like a ripe orange floating above the horizon beside them, painting the sand and water with all shades of orange and lime.

Sayo finally broke the silence with excited voice. "Dam, look!"

He pointed towards the small village with couple of wooden shacks and something that looked like a small dock where five fishing boats floated, bound with ropes. Coral reef below the walkways painted the water with the teal blue, while the water surface reflected the orange tones of the sun.

They walked to the wooden dock, hoping some fishermen will still be there. They had only found two men standing next to the pile of crates marked with Kirkwall crest, whispering angrily at each other. One was old, bald with a long, white beard. The other one was tall, athletically built, dark-skinned man with a wrap on his head and a leather coat. Looking closely, Damien noticed a sharp, deadly sabre hanging from his belt.

"There's a ship there." Damien deduced with hopeful voice, noticing an anchored ship not far from the shore.

"Dam... those are pirates." Sayo, who had seen pirates almost every day in Rivain, uttered with a deep hate in his voice.

"Look, I know what pirates did to your mom. I know you hate them, and believe me, I wouldn't pick them if we had another option. Just think about it. We will be offshore most of the time, and Marjolaine can't track us on the water. Also, we'll be of use to them."

Damien tried persuading his friend. Deep inside, Sayo knew he was right. This was an opportunity they shouldn't miss.

"What about you? You can't stand to be in one place for too long, and this is one very, very tight place. Also, we will float in the middle of nowhere most of the time."

"I'll manage." Damien said and started walking towards two angry men. The moment old man noticed them, he stopped talking for a moment and then yelled at the younger one:" Here, you damned scuttleback! Look at these two! Take them! Ya'll not take anyone from my village, is that clear?!"

"Fine! Damned perfumed, two faced chevalier kissing mongrels..." Young man muttered, turning his gaze towards them. "You don't look like sailors to me."

"No, we're not sailors. But we still want to join your crew!" Damien feigned confidence.

"You want to join a crew? Do you even know how to man the oar?!" Man yelled.

"Well, I..."

"Piss of, you waste of air." Man spat in front of his legs. Sayo wanted to punch him in his stupid, arrogant face. He probably would, if Damien didn't stop his hand.

"Wait!" Damien wanted to try one more time. "Look, we can learn how to sail, it's not a problem. But you could need us for some other things. We can fight, pick locks, we're really good with stealth, and you get a bonus with my incredible climbing skill, and his knowledge of herbalism. You can use us good, if you take us in."

Man considered Damien's words, and a small grin appeared on his face.

"You're Fereldan, are you not? Fine. You can join the crew... if you get down on all fours, bark like a dog and lick my shoe."

Sayo was already fuming from the anger. Damien was ready to step on his pride, and he probably would if he wasn't interrupted by a person behind asshole pirate's back.

"Casavir, Casavir... haven't I told you to mind your manners? Alas, you could consult me first before repelling such a dashing pair of young men." Woman with a feminine voice had a seductive stance, checking Damien and Sayo from head to toe.

"Captain Isabela! This dog lord claims to be of use, but he knows nothing about the sailing!"

"And I reckon you knew everything about sailing, fighting and fucking when you came aboard?" she pierced him with her brown eyes.

"No... you're right. They're all yours." Man blushed so much, Sayo feared he will faint from all that blood in his head. He left with an angry pace, cursing to himself.

"He acts tough, but he's a huge softie. Maybe I should spank his baby butt so he can learn his place. Anyway..." she turned her gaze back at two boys standing there with stunned faces.

" _This is a captain? I expected a toothless pirate."_ Damien thought. Her Rivaini features didn't escape Sayo's attention: her dark skin, brown hair and eyes, piercing on her bottom lip and few tattoos on her skin. Her black tunic wrapped around the waist, showing a lot of cleavage. As she shifted from one to another pair of tall leather boots, her breasts bounced, further accenting her foxy seductiveness.

"I heard what you'd said about your skills, sweet thing. Let's say I've heard a lot about you two."

"What?" Sayo didn't even try to hide a panic and surprise in his voice and face. He'd feared the word about their escape already spread. Also, he expected a bounty on their heads and pirates were notorious for stealing bounties.

"I have heard there's a charming Fereldan boy who can climb on anything. His associates gave him a nickname, The Spider." she said, exaggerating on purpose.

Damien felt stunned with the fact that someone, other than Crows of course, has even heard about him. "Who said so?" he carefully asked.

"Your friend Zevran, of course."

"Zev?!" Damien and Sayo yelled at the same time, as their jaws dropped.

"Yes, the charming elf. Also, he told me that you're incredible in so many things." she whispered softly, looking at Sayo, smiling and raising her eyebrow. Sayo felt all the blood rushing to his head, and he could feel his cheeks blushing.

"What the...?" Damien was shocked too much by so many things at this moment. He didn't know what shocked him more: The fact that Zev flapped his gums about them to all who asked, or that Zev nailed Sayo.

"So, taking all the things I know about you, seeing you all messed up in the middle of nowhere... before I take you in, I must ask, why do you want to join my ship?"

"We are no longer Crows." Sayo gave the only answer that he could, not revealing any information of what really happened. They needed to board that ship, so they must run away from The Crows, and from that crazy bitch.

"I would ask about the details but I fear it might be inappropriate. Alright, welcome aboard." she stretched her hand out.

"Oh, by the way, my name is Isabela. _Captain_ Isabela."

After a brief introduction, Isabela led them to a small boat, tied on the fishing docks. Dark skinned man, Casavir, was sitting there with his hands crossed over chest, obviously still mad. Damien thought he looked like a child, having all of his toys taken by his parents because of unfinished supper. After they docked the boat, Casavir started rowing like a maniac, almost as if he wanted to show his superiority. Isabela smiled at his act, amused, same as Damien and Sayo who just waved off and laughed.

They reached the big pirate ship, named Siren's Call. Cedar wood on the main dock creaked with every step of her crew. At first they noticed only five men. First one tied the ropes, two rolled some barrels, and the other two were taking a break, playing Wicked Grace.

"Yo, Captain! Did ye find any fresh meat to be spoiled, eh?" a man, playing with ropes, greeted his captain, staring at new recruits.

"They are already spoiled!"

"Even better!" he howled.

"You will meet everyone later, first we need to make you look like... well, us." she gave them a sign to follow her down, below the deck. Soon they entered what seemed to be a storeroom. Jewels, clothes, house decorations, barrels with food and drinks filled it so that there wasn't even a place to stretch your hands out.

"It's yours. Pick whatever you find to your liking."

They expected her to leave the room, but Isabela closed the door and leaned on them, looking at Damien and Sayo with an amused smirk on her face.

"Oh, you were expecting I will leave you alone? Oh, no, no, sweet things. I don't trust you enough to let you out of my sight."

Sayo and Damien found new change of clothes for themselves. Damien was really athletic, training every morning to keep himself in shape. Thus, he never had a problem showing his naked body. Sayo saw him naked many times, but for Sayo it was a big problem. For everybody else, Sayo was male, and he couldn't just show his small, firm breasts to everyone. Damien already started taking his rags off, proudly showing his chiselled body to his new boss. She checked his abdominal muscles and he smiled as she whistled. Sayo took the opportunity and turned away from both of them. Of course, Isabela noticed.

"You're no fun at all!" she protested.

Damien found some brown leather pants and boots of the same colour with hardened front. Intricate weaving looked almost elven, and a sleeveless black coat fell all the way down to his knees. He fastened it with a dark leather belt, strapping it around his waist. Sayo thought it suited him, although he only saw him with a Crow armour – or naked.

Sayo wrapped a cloth around his chest first. Small as they were, his breasts would still hurt while wearing male designed armour. He could barely find anything that suited him – everything was too big. In the end, he found some black boots, fitting like they were made for him. He donned a striped white shirt with a black sleeveless tunic and black silk pants adorned with a red belt. Damien burst into laughter when he saw him.

"You look like a run of the mill pirate." Damien noticed.

"Arsetard..." Sayo answered.

Sayo asked Isabela if they could get anything to hide their Crow tattoos and if she could find some black, triangular wraps. She gave them two leather gauntlets she'd found in some crate. As for the black wraps, they couldn't find any.

"I assume you two use daggers, right? Zevran seemed to flaunt that dirk of his often enough." Isabela muttered.

Soon, they've found the crate with all sorts of weapons. Damien decided to keep the knife Leliana gave him, and took a slightly curved dagger with a red grip. Sayo took two exquisite looking daggers – their blades were in the shape of a crescent moon, and glittered with a white colour.

"Now you look like pirates!" Isabela was pleased with their new look. "Now, we need a drink! And you must be hungry! Come!"

They followed her to a captain's cabin. Isabela showed them to sit across the big wooden table, filled with maps. There was also a compass, and all sorts of weird sailing stuff. She offered them some sweet rum with cherries and fruit.

"So, my sweet, sweet boys. I need you to tell me who you are, what happened to you, and why are you running. I took you in because I've heard stories about you, but I still don't trust you."

Later that night, Damien told Isabela everything. He told her about the job they got from Orlesian bards, the plan to massacre elves, their failure and imprisonment. Of course, he explained about their escape and abandonment of their Master, Ben. All the time, his voice shivered like it was only a matter of time when he'll start crying. Isabela, crossing her legs on the wooden table, listened with an understanding look in her hazel eyes, drinking rum. After Damien finally finished his story, the room remained silent for a few moments.

"So long story short, you boys have more luck than brains." Isabela broke the silence with a sarcastic undertone. After she sucked on the last drip of the rum from a dusty bottle, Isabela threw it against the wall and it shattered. She brushed her mouth and started tottering towards the door.

"Eyepatch! Kirk! Get your cute arses over here!"

Two man came in, running. One was tall and bald with an eyepatch on his right eye, and a goatee. Damien looked closely, noticing a couple of grey hairs on his buzz-cut hair and thick beard. The other one was younger, around Damien's age, with a long blonde hair tied in a messy ponytail.

"Take these louts and show them around the ship. And Eyepatch, keep an eye on them." She looked at the man with an eyepatch. Both Isabela and the other man started laughing.

"That's fucking hilarious." Man replied cynically.

After they showed the ship, younger man Kirk gave them bucket and brushes.

"I want this deck to be shiny like a butt of those Orlesian whores! Get to work!" he gave them an order and left them alone. They started rubbing the wooden floor without even thinking of slacking off.

"So…" Damien said with an amused voice.

 _Here we go._

Sayo knew this will happen.

"You and Zev, huh?"

"Yes."

"When in Thedas did that happen?"

"You don't remember?" Sayo was confused. He thought Damien will tease him, but he actually didn't remember!

"Remember what?"

"Well, you literally burst into the room while Zevran was… well, atop of me."

"What?! Awww hell, how come I can't remember that?!"

"Yes, you were drunk and just entered the room yelling something. And when you saw us, you just undid your straps, planning to fuck Zevran. Zevran would gladly accept it, but then, I wouldn't."

Damien giggled. "Well, that does sound like me."

"And you were so annoying, calling Zevran your _blond beautiful butted fairy,_ so I had to knock your ass unconscious and get you out of the room. That's probably why you don't remember."

Sayo noticed Damien tried hard to remember, his head became more and more red as if it will explode from too much strain.


	6. All Went Wrong!

**A/N:**

 **WARNING!** This chapter contains a scene of torture!

* * *

Days and weeks have passed while Damien and Sayo slowly adapted to a pirate life. At first, their job was to clean and serve other crew members but slowly they gained trust of their mates. Sayo, who hated the pirates all his life, realized this crew was unlike others he saw or heard about. Mostly, they smuggled lyrium and some criminals who tried skipping town as soon as possible. They did couple of raids on some abandoned ruins, filled with treasures. At first, Sayo and Damien weren't allowed to raid with them, but after a month full of trying to prove their worth, they went on their first raid.

Isabela was an amazing captain. All the crew members respected her word, she was fun but her authority was never questioned. When she gives you an order, you do it without even thinking or fussing about it. Except Casavir, of course. He was always arguing with captain about everything.

"Bring those sails up!" Isabela would yell.

"Bring those sails up!" he repeated.

"What are you doing?!"

"What are you doing?"

"I'm a captain here!"

"No, I'm a captain!"

This was funny, and it confused Sayo at first but then he learned Casavir was just an ambitious first mate. It was fun being a pirate! They usually just drank their asses down, made pranks on each other, or came up with stupid raiding plans. Once, Damien and Isabela made plan to steal Antivan princess. The plan could actually work if it wasn't so idiotic. Also, captain called Damien Damie. She noticed it bothers him so she thought it would be funny to prod him.

She also called Sayo Browncake, for his dark skin and his sweet personality. After a while, Damien became dexterous enough to learn how to cheat in Wicked Grace, but he still lost to Sayo most of the time.

But nevertheless, Sayo noticed changes in her friend. He spent most of his free time on yardarm, gazing in the distance with a serious expression. He noticed Damien didn't sleep much, if he was asleep he had bad dreams but mostly he was wandering aimlessly around the ship. One night, while everyone sat in the common room drinking some brandy stolen from a merchant ship two days ago, Sayo noticed Damien wasn't present. He climbed up to the main deck and noticed him looking at horizon with a glass of brandy that picked the orange light of the sunset, reflecting in the colour of the drink.

"Dam? What's wrong?" Sayo was worried.

"Nothing. I'm just thinking."

"You mean just drinking."

Damien laughed, but didn't answer.

"You're thinking about Ben? Leliana?"

"Everyone." He was so apathetic, it hurt Sayo's heart. _It's all my fault._

"We should warn the others. The storm is coming." He said, leaving Sayo alone on the warm, salty evening.

Sayo observed the distant horizon. Dark, looming cloud slowly covered beautiful orange sunset. This cloud moved unusually fast, considering the distance. Here and there, lightning cracked through the dark, heavy mass and the bottom of the cloud spilled to the sea. Thunder insidiously warned about the impending storm. The scene was as beautiful as it was frightening. Suddenly, Isabela and the other pirates ran atop the main deck.

Casavir yelled out:"The storm! The storm is coming!"

"I can see that, dick. We're setting course to Denerim! On your station, drunken fools!"

The ship sailed at full speed, yet it took them three days to reach Denerim. Sayo and Denerim visited Denerim two years ago on a job, still having fond memories. Those memories gave wind to their steps as they visited The Pearl. Madame Sanga, the proprietor of the brothel, was always kind to them, like a mother.

Ben always taught them to befriend whores and homeless because:"They're the eyes and ears of the city."

Be good to whores, and they'll tell you everything… for a small price.

The moment they entered the brothel, Madame Sanga spotted them and rushed to hug them.

"My boys! Oh, it has been so long since I saw you! My, my, you look so handsome! And Damien, you finally grew a beard? Oh!"

 _He actually does have much thicker beard._ Sayo thought, not noticing before, since he looked at him every day. Damien did shave much more often than before.

"Sanga! We missed you so much!" Damien hugged her so hard, Sayo thought he'd heard bones cracking.

"Come! I have something for you!" she urged them to follow. Sanga went behind the counter, reaching for something from below.

She handed them a letter. "Here. This came couple of weeks ago. It has your names on it."

"A letter?" They both looked surprised. Who would send them a letter? And who would send it to the brothel?

On the back of the letter was written _To Damien and Sayo,_ there was no seal, no name of the sender. They sat at the empty table in the corner and opened it. Sayo thought his heart will burst out of the chest.

"It's from Ben!"

Damien was so stunned, he couldn't speak. He just looked at Sayo, eager to hear about the contents of a letter. Sayo started reading out loud.

 _Dear boys,_

 _First of all… you dickheads dared to just leave me behind in that fucking jail?! At first I was mad, but now I understand why._

 _I've sent this letter to The Pearl, because I thought maybe one day you will come there, and it's the only place I'm certain you will be. I just hope you boys are safe. I'm thinking about you every day._

 _I'm alright, no need to worry about me. You wouldn't believe when I tell you but now, I'm a Warden. It's not so bad if you ignore the nightmares and constant fighting with the darkspawn._

 _I hope one day our paths will cross again. For now, just remember all I've taught you and stay safe._

 _Ben_

Sayo's eyes filled with tears. Damien jumped from the chair: "He's alive! That old fart is alive!"

Just at that moment captain walked towards them with a puzzled look:"Browncake, Damie, what happened?"

Damien jumped on her, hugging her and spinning all around: "He's alive! Ben's alive!"

"Ben? Oh, your master?" Isabela recalled the story they told her when they met.

"Yes, he's okay! He became a Warden!" Damien was so happy he jumped around, hugging and kissing everyone he could reach. He had to stop when a bouncer gave him an evil eye. Sayo was sitting in the corner, still stunned by the news that their master, friend and father is alive and well.

For the rest of the night, Sayo, Isabela, Damien and Casavir sat by the table, drinking and playing Wicked Grace. The rest of the crew were "having fun" with the ladies. Madame Sanga sat with them after all the customers were served, counting the coins.

"Madame Sanga, what's the news in Denerim? Anything interesting going on?" Sayo asked.

"No, not really. Oh, I remember. There were some Orlesian thugs doing pranks. But they were caught. Those Orlesians… always so full of themselves, bringing their Game into Denerim." She let out a sigh, shaking her head with a disappointment.

"Yeah, Orlesians are weird." Damien said, remembering all the things they saw and went through in Val Royeux.

"Do you know who they were?"

"I think I've heard from the guards… they were a dwarf, a mage elf and a redhead girl, some spy-"

She didn't finish her sentence. Sayo and Damien jumped up from their chairs with frightened look on their faces, staring at Sanga.

"Are you boys alright? You're pale." Isabela looked at them, worried by their scared eyes.

"When did that happen?" Sayo asked, with a panic radiating from his eyes.

"Not sure. Around a month ago, or so… But I've heard some of them escaping. I can't say for certain."

"She did it… she actually fucking did it! Oh Maker, I'm going to strangle that bitch!" Damien started shivering like a twig, Sayo wanted to scream in rage. Damien rushed out, into the night and Sayo followed. Both of them nervously paced up and down the docks.

"We need to find out what happened! We…" Sayo said in panic.

"How? We can't just burst into the prison and say:' _Hi, our friends were here and we need to know what you did to them!"_

"We can ask Sanga to help us. Guards are certainly in debt to her, since they come here very often."

Damien had a look in his eyes, unlike anything Sayo ever saw before. Those eyes sent shivers through his spine. The same psychotic eyes Marjolaine had when she told them the plan.

"You're quite smart, Sayo. That's a good idea." Damien ran back inside. Isabela, Casavir and Sanga sat on the same place where they left them.

"Boys!" Sanga was worried, ever since she saw Damien's angry face.

"Sanga, we need your help." His voice wasn't warm and happy-go-lucky. It was dark and full of rage, almost terrifying. Sayo was angry too, but he worried his friend might lose his mind.

"Those Orlesians were our friends and they were taken in the prison. I need names!"

Sanga looked at him like a mother would look at her mischievous child.

"Mind your manners, boy. You're in my house now." She said.

"I'm sorry, Sanga, but we need help! I beg you!"

Sanga thought about something for a moment, before she drank another sip of wine and put it down on the table. Rubbing the wine drops from her lips with an elegant move, she said: "It just occurred to me that one of my current clients is a Denerim guardsman, from the dungeons."

"Where is he?!" He started yelling.

Madame Sanga noticed his boiling rage, so she sat in front of the doorway to one of the rooms, completely unfazed by the muffled moaning behind the door.

"One of my younger ladies is currently inside. Also, I respect my client's privacy. I will have no trouble from you. When he gets out, and I mean out of The Pearl, he's yours."

Damien tried waiting, but with each moment his anger boiled more and more.

"I can't wait anymore!" he yelled.

Sanga's lips tightened and her eyes blazed with the anger.

"I don't know what you're up to, but nobody enters this room. The only way in is over my dead corpse."

Damien tightened his fist in a dark hide glove, with a crunching sound of fresh leather as his fingers dug into his palm. However, he couldn't attack Sanga. No matter how angry he was, the person in front of him was his family. He let out a long sigh, dropping down on a chair like an angry kid who doesn't want to eat dinner.

After some time, cute, red-headed elven girl exited the room. She counted a money in her purse, obviously proud of how much she made. When she saw Damien, she winked at him but he didn't even look her in the eyes.

He noticed choke marks on her throat, many slices on the skin of her pretty hands, bite marks on her minuscule breasts and how part of her hair was burned away. He paid a great deal of gold to torture the lass. Damien raged even more – girl reminded him on Leliana. He didn't even want to imagine what that fucker did with his girl. But it made him hell-bent on paying him back for every single scar.

Guardsman finally exited the room, tying his trousers up. Without his armour, Damien noticed just how muscular this man was - he barely passed through the doorway. Man's small eyes sat laughably close to each other, giving him a pig-headed look, further accented by a small tuft of hair high on his head.

His bucked teeth opened his lips just enough to give him a stupid, donkey-like expression which made him into an interesting combination of two animals, renown for stupidity, stubbornness and grime.

When he saw Damien, he grinned.

"What are you staring at, dog? Ye want some of this too?" he said, grabbing his crotch.

"Fuck off." Damien told him off.

Man snorted the snot deep from his throat, spitting over his face. Damien whipped the spit from his cheeks, almost exploding from the anger. But Sanga constantly looked at him, making him aware she won't tolerate fight in her establishment. Every single thing this man did made him even more angry, more vengeful.

Sayo thought he knew what comes next. However, when you push a man over a certain point, a failsafe in his body turns on, saving him from the devastating anger. Instead, the anger turns into a deep hatred and the emotion completely disappears. When Damien's eyes darkened, Sayo knew his friend wasn't a kind, good-hearted goofy anymore.

Sayo felt a terror emanating from his friend. He had an evil grin on his face, and mad look in his eyes. They've left The Pearl, and luckily, guard was still here. He took a piss in the corner, oblivious to his surroundings.

" _You know Andraste's old mabari, he don't show up in the Chant…"_

He sang.

"Hey, arsehole!" Damien hollered, and the guardsman took around, whipping his penis back into his pants.

"Wha- it's you again! You came here to get some of this, skinny boy?!" he yelled, grinning. Damien ignored his question. Unsheathing the daggers, he slowly walked towards guardsman who realized shit hit the fan. However, hulking brute didn't want to show his weakness, so he just grinned wider and undid a sword from his buckle.

"You want to fight _me?_ I'm left hand of the Denerim guard commander, Rayleigh! I'm eating fuckers like you for a breakfast!"

"Oh I'm not looking for a fight. I'm looking for a slaughter." Damien muttered.

"What?" Guard asked. He had but a moment in which Damien simply disappeared from the view, appearing in front of guardsman's confused face in a matter of second. He used a thick, studded leather on his elbow to deliver a strike in his stomach. Man bent over, gasping for a breath.

"You… fast… bastard…" he said, finally regaining composure. When he assumed a battle stance, Damien realized he's indeed skilled. Whenever Damien tried landing a blow, he would block it with his sword. But Damien didn't have time for a fight. He knew guard captain was skilled, probably even more than Damien was. Just at the right moment, Sayo sneaked behind the guard, hitting him under the skull with a dagger pommel, perfectly landing the hit. The guard couldn't even finish his groan as he fell unconscious.

Damien was breathing heavily, from running around the brute and evading his deadly blows.

"See! I know you could do it better than me!"

Sayo chuckled. They took his longsword, tossing it into dark salty water. After they did it, they checked every inch of his body for any dirk or shiv he could use to hurt them. Naturally, they cut his purse along the way, taking all his remaining money.

They used the simple, hard rope to tie his hands behind the back, dragging him into the darkest part of the alley. Dragging and pulling awoke the guard and his consciousness returned. As soon as he realized he's tied up, he groaned and made a painful grimace. His vision cleared and he undoubtedly saw two standing in front of him as he screamed and trashed around, yelling obscenities.

Damien's eyes instinctively rolled back in annoyance, and his leg instinctively made contact with guard's. Damien's boots had heavy, leather stoles and one could hear a loud _crack_ as guard's leg snapped, deforming into unnatural shape. Guard let a loud scream of agony.

"Damien… was this really necessary?" Sayo asked.

Damien looked at him, feigning innocence. "What? He was annoying!" Then he turned the gaze to the man on the floor, patting his broken leg ever so slightly.

"Now, _guard captain…_ there was a group of Orlesians in the prison. A dwarf, elf mage and red haired woman. Now, be so kind to tell me what you know about them, and maybe I won't start twisting your leg." He placed both palms on the broken place.

Man laughed, snorting the snot again, spitting the smelly liquid all over his face. Damien calmly wiped the saliva, smiling at the brute. Hands on guard's leg squeezed and wrenched the leg around. Sayo heard the flesh tearing apart, as the man let out another painful scream.

"Look, guard, if you don't tell him what he wants to know he will break your other leg, and your arms." Sayo coldly said, standing in front of the guard, mainly to keep watch if anyone interfered.

The guard sniffed and lifted his gaze to Damien, a gaze full of anger and urge to kill.

"How the fuck did you think I can remember every filth that came into the prison?!"

Damien chuckled. "Surely, your brain is not so small to remember such a rare, noticeable crowd, yes?" he asked, twisting the broken leg one more time.

After the guard stopped screaming, he spoke. "Alright! I remember them!"

"Well then, start talking!" Sayo was losing patience.

"Commander Rayleigh told us to wait o-outside the castle! He said we'll have a fresh meat to play with! We had to - we had to knock them all out! The girl was hurt, bleeding from the stomach… and then… commander gave us the order to torture them to death!"

"What happened then?!"

One could clearly see the man was pale and covered in sweat. It looked like he will lose consciousness again. Damien, as impatient as ever, did not let him slumber again. He pulled the dagger out, same dirk that Leliana dropped him, slowly starting to carve man's exposed chest.

"You know, I've heard the most curious story. Skinning. It's the most painful experience one could go through."

"Stop, please stop! I'll tell you! We started with the dwarf! He was the most annoying one… we tossed other two in the cells. We tortured the dwarf until he died!"

"Tug…" Sayo felt his heart cracking by the thought of Tug dying in such a terrible way.

"What about the girl?" Damien didn't stop gazing at the man.

"I remember the girl…. Commander came inside her cell, he told me to keep the watch. We – We took turns…"

Damien razed his brow. "Turns?"

Sayo felt disgust raising in his throat.

"Dam… those bastards raped her." He uttered.

At first Damien just stared at Sayo, stunned. Next thing happened in a flash. "You bastard!" Damien screamed. He clenched his fist, pommeling the guards face so hard, Sayo panicked and pulled him away.

"Don't kill him yet!" Sayo yelled to Damien's face. "I'll take over, you stay here and keep a lookout!"

Damien was breathing heavily, his body shook in rage and terror. One last glance at Sayo, and he took a step back. Sayo was right, they need more information, and his rage was hard to control.

"What did you do to the elf?" Sayo asked, with an apathetic voice. With a corner of his eye he noticed a movement in the shadows of the alley. It didn't look like humanoid shape so he ignored it, thinking it's probably a dog or something. Guard looked even uglier, missing few teeth where Damien hit his face.

"We tortured him… lucky bastard managed to escape. That girl showed up with some man, and he helped them escape."

"Where's the commander Rayleigh?"

"Commander is dead. We found his body at the Blighted cliffs."

Damien crouched down, staring at guardsman's tortured, piggy eyes.

"I really hope for your own good you're not lying. Maybe you need a bit of a pain relief, huh?" he asked. For a moment, guard seemed hopeful but Damien's pain relief didn't involve medicine. He took the dagger, slicing inflamed flesh around the wound, as the blood gushed out.

Man was out of breath, the pain was taking its toll on him. He let out a desperate groan, his eyes begging to let him go and stop this agony.

"I'm not! It's true! You can ask anyone!"

Sayo was sure the man was telling the truth. "Damien, stop." He ordered, and asked: "Do you know where they went? Any leads on them?"

"The last report we got was that an elf was seen in outskirts near Kirkwall. We got no reports on the woman."

Sayo stood up and walked towards the Damien. "Want me to kill him?"

Damien shook his head. "Let me do this my way." He whispered.

Before the tortured man on the ground realized what's happening, Damien kicked him with the shin right across the face. His head jerked and Damien grabbed the collar of his shirt, punching his face with the right fist. Guard could do nothing but scream and flail around as the sound of bones breaking filled the midnight air, combined with the sound of blood splattering around.

"Look, guardsman. We have a company." Damien menacingly said. Guard was already fading in and out of consciousness, but his piggy eyes turned around and widened in horror. Sayo couldn't imagine what terrified him so, but then he spotted a pack of stray dogs coming out of shadows.

Hungry pack of dogs could tear a man apart, as Sayo learned once he saw them tearing down a homeless man back in Rivain where he lived. Pack stopped just few feet away from Damien, as if waiting for him to finish.

"Damie, that's enough. He suffered enough. Let's go." He whispered.

"Right you are, Sayo." He uttered, grabbing his legs and straightening them out. He took all of his strength to jump in the air, right on his shinbones, snapping them both like twigs. Now, guard could not run away even if he wanted. This awoke the guard who screamed in pain, and again in fear as he noticed dogs nearing ever so close.

As soon as they took couple of steps away from now unrecognizable body of the guard, dogs jumped on it, hungrily tearing his flesh apart, snarling as the guard's screams died away. Nauseating sound of head disjointing from the neck gave a sickening end to his scream.

* * *

Sayo entered the brothel, still terrified by what he just heard and saw. Damien lost it. Just as they walked towards the docks he threw up, he was shaking out of breath, muttering words to himself.

He noticed Isabela and Sanga sitting at the table, both eager to hear what happened. When they saw Sayo, Isabela stood up.

"Where's Damie?" she asked, looking at Sayo who sat down.

"He's... I think he's at the docks..." he whispered the words. Isabela rushed out in a matter of second.

Damien heard somebody approaching him. He looked back, seeing his captain as she looked at him like he's a lost puppy. He finished washing himself as much as it was possible.

"You missed a spot." Isabela joked, chuckling.

However, Damien didn't even smile. "What do I do now? They might still be alive. I can try and find them."

"You could try, but I won't let you." Isabela stood next to him, gazing down the smelly water, in the distance where the ships sailed against the sunset.

"You won't _let_ me?!"

"Damie! I know you're angry, and you want to find your friends, or whatever they are, but trust me: it's better to let it go with a flow! We travel a lot and you can ask around, but I won't let you to go on a rampage on your own."

"They... raped her, Isabela. Tortured them, tortured Tug to death…" he could not hold up any longer. He started crying, shaking breathlessly, wanting nothing more than to scream his lungs out.

"I never thought I'll see Antivan Crow crying." Isabela noticed, patting his shaking shoulder, giving him as much comfort as she could. "You and Sayo are the luckiest people I know! No doubt you will stumble upon them when you at least expect it."


	7. Here Comes the Blight

**A/N:** And here we are! Finally we are following the canon. Hope you'll like it.

* * *

King's mangled body was laying on the battlefield side, with several broken ribs and head split open. Lightning strike illuminated a huge dark hole in an empty skull while his broken arms and legs each faced a different direction. Duncan felt a terror overflowing his body. Ogre kicked him in the stomach, taking an opportunity of man's anxiety which overcame him when he realized Loghain actually won't answer the call. However, the pain in his stomach was of a different kind. Now, he shambled towards Cailan's dead body, feeling the pain in his chest and bitter tears burning his eyes.

"Duncan! We should retreat!" Ben screamed, but Duncan didn't even notice. He stumbled down on his knees, clutching on Cailan's lifeless body.

"King, forgive me… I've… failed you…" he muttered, moving a lock of king's golden hair, closing his empty eyes. Taking a sword out, he whispered: "In death, sacrifice." grabbed Cailan's body, holding tight, not letting the damn horde get it. He was ready to kill every single monster, if only to keep the honour of this man. His father, Maric, gave Wardens a right to be here. Duncan was saved from the life of a crime, living the life he always wanted to live. Wardens were everything to him, and the allegiance he swore on Maric's son was greater than death.

"Duncan! Snap out of this!" Ben screamed. Duncan raised his weary eyes, blurry from the pain in his body. Ben turned around, noticing a band of darkspawn closing in. Crow Master was a veteran, fighting his whole life. One by one, darkspawn fell, piling a mountain of corpses around his legs. He was adamant to save Duncan, even if it means killing every darkspawn on this damned, blighted field himself.

"Leave… Ben…" Duncan muttered.

"I won't leave you to die, Duncan!" Ben screamed. Duncan knew he would die, with or without darkspawn. The wound on his stomach produced internal injuries and he bled from the mouth. Also, last few months he felt the Calling: his nightmares intensified and his body gave out. Of course, as an apprentice, Ben didn't have time to learn this harsh truth.

Duncan felt a tinge of regret for not telling Ben everything that being a Warden actually entails. Old Crow fought like a monster. If only Loghain came, the fight would have been won. But the darkspawn kept coming. They were like a dark tidal wave. Ben heaved, his hands and muscles hurt. He was drenched in darkspawn blood, feeling tired. As the earthquake or a volcano, the earth around their legs burst, and at least hundred more darkspawn descended upon them. Ben let out a surprised yelp, assuming a battle stance but Duncan could only watch as the huge group of monsters descended upon him, cutting him down, swarming him like locusts.

"Ben!" Duncan let out a yell, coughing as the blood filled his mouth. Suddenly, he heard a great horn, and saw the fire on the Tower of Ishal signalling Loghain's men to attack. However, Duncan knew Loghain wouldn't respond the call. His sixth sense told him this battle was doomed from the start and he was correct. The signal fire went too late and Loghain's men didn't storm the field. His weary eyes noticed something he considered a hallucination: Among the fire, great wings appeared and another flame from a scaly head which burned something atop the tower. A humongous dragon snatched something in its fangs, creating a gust of air with huge, leathery wings, disappearing to the night.

As Duncan raised his eyes, there was a large Hurlock killing the remaining stragglers who tried escaping the field, ordering the other monsters to do the same. Some of the darkspawn swarmed upon the corpses. He heard tendons snapping with an awful sound, and the sound of flesh ripped apart. Amidst the smell of blood and smoke, Duncan realized he's the last remaining Warden on the field. He grabbed a sword, still holding on Cailan's cold corpse, squinting his eyes as Hurlock commander realized Duncan is still alive. Huge beast ordered something, and the darkspawn which swarmed the field turned their attention to old Warden, charging at him with a battle cry.

"In death, sacrifice." Duncan muttered and squinted his eyes and pressed his lips tight, not letting them see he's afraid. However, he was afraid. In the last moment of his life, Duncan was so afraid. He didn't believe in the Maker, so to speak. The darkspawn appeared when the Golden City was blackened. If there's no Golden City, where will he go? Will he be drifting in the Fade, forever lost? Whole life flashed in front of his eyes – the life as a young boy in Rivain, as he made his life by stealing. Later, when he was accepted in the Wardens and the pride. Then, the pain of regret when he had to kill Jory. Was Maker wrathful, exacting a revenge for all he did in his life?

Duncan couldn't finish the last thought. A large, jagged battleaxe closed down on his neck, and he could see his headless body for just a second before all he knew ceased to exist.

* * *

Sayo couldn't wait to arrive in Denerim. It's been two years since the last time they were here and well… it didn't end up good. Still, he will see Sanga again, get to walk around Denerim market! Oh, how he loved chatting with Antivan traders, buying fine weapons, poison ingredients, seeing exotic scents from all around Thedas. He once even went inside Wonders of Thedas, and how magical that place was!

They docked at late afternoon. Damien and Sayo rushed towards The Pearl, although Damien wasn't so excited. All around them, Blight blackened and darkened the land. Denerim was still relatively safe, since darkspawn didn't attack – yet. However, grave news caught up with them. Ostagar battle was lost. Wardens betrayed the King, letting him die. Loghain pulled out the troops just in time, and Darkspawn won the battle. It was all nonsensical bullshit, and Damien believed Loghain actually deserted the battlefield. Whatever the truth, all the Wardens died. Well, not all of them – there were rumours of two surviving Wardens. Damien still hoped Ben was among them.

As they entered the brothel, Sanga gave them a tight hug. She held them in her embrace, and they've felt her shivering.

"So it's true… all Wardens are gone?" Sayo carefully asked, noticing Sanga is trying her best not to cry.

"Yes, my dear."

"And Ben… did he…?" Sayo asked. He felt Damien's body stiffening.

"He is in the better place. I've heard some former Templar named Alistair survived, and a young Dalish elf. Only they are alive. I'm sorry, my boys."

Sayo sobbed. Damien tried hard not to cry, but the tears left his eyes. Sanga held Sayo in her arms, as he cried like a baby, and she pulled her hands through his long, dark hair.

"There, there. I know it hurts. He was like a father to you, I understand."

"Why him?" Damien asked, completely honestly.

"I'm not truly religious, but it's said Maker works in strange ways. I'm sure Ben found his peace."

Later on, they sat at the table in the corner. Damien was nursing the ale in his hand, mixing the beer at the bottom, with the empty look in his eyes. Sayo simply stared at the ground, still not believing the news. Isabela came soon, carrying a scent of brine and faint odour of alcohol. When she noticed Damien, her face turned into a worried frown.

"What's with the long face, cuties?" she sat next to Sayo, throwing her arm around his shoulders.

"Ben is… dead. All Wardens are dead." Sayo said, still not believing the news.

"And you two think Wardens motto is ' _in death, cry your eyes'?"_

"I hope you're not trying to be funny." Damien said, with a voice raspy from crying.

"Wardens are honourable! We ought to drink our arses of to honour them! Can you fetch us a bottle of rum, sweet thing?" She asked Sanga, flipping coins on the table.

They ended up drinking all night, until Damien fell asleep on the table, drooling so much he made a little pool. Isabela went to the room with some elven girl, Casavir also disappeared. Sayo was drunk, but he couldn't go to sleep.

He reckoned some fresh air might clear his thoughts. Streets of Denerim now felt lonely, his mind was fixed on Ben and everything that old fart did for him and Damien. As he passed the chapel, he could hear a familiar Orlesian accent behind the wall. His heart started pounding fast!

 _"_ _I must be imagining things."_ He thought to himself, deciding to check the voice up.

"She has a red hair, yes. Make sure she knows it was me. Make sure she comes. Do not disappoint me." The strong accented voice said.

Sayo felt the rage filling in his stomach. It was the raven-haired woman they met three years ago! The same woman who wanted to slaughter those elves in Val Royeaux, the woman that imprisoned them, handing their friends to Denerim Guards, tortured them and killed Tug. She's here! Talking to some mercenary, giving him a sack of gold.

"As you wish." Man said, bowing and leaving the chuckling woman alone in the street.

" _Fuck! Move_!" he said to himself, running as quiet as he could. He stealthily reached The Pearl, catching his breath. " _If Damie finds out about this, he'll lose it again. What should I do?"_

It was late, and brothel was completely empty, aside from Sanga sitting at the counter. As she saw Sayo, she smiled.

"Don't worry. I've been watching him. He's still sleeping."

Damien was still drooling and snoring. The pool under his cheek grew bigger. Sayo smiled at the scene.

"Look at him, sleeping so peacefully. _In uthenera na rivas_." He said, running fingers through his scraggly hair.

Next couple of days were peaceful. Well, for them peaceful means drinking all day, persuading some idiots who didn't pay their bill to Sanga and one or two brawls triggered by Damien and Isabela. Sayo noticed how much Damien changed. He was drinking himself to sleep every night. As loud as he tended to be, now he was quiet, mostly looking at the bottom of his mug and ignoring everyone. When Damien drinks enough, he starts making perverted jokes with Isabela or brawls with some drunken louts. Now, he was just sitting down, deep in his thoughts. Sayo couldn't bring himself to tell him that he saw Marjolaine, and that she was talking about setting a trap for Leliana.

One of those peaceful mornings Sayo woke up, feeling a bit hangover. They were playing some drinking game, and they all drank too much. He looked around the room to fill his memory of last night, and the only thing that got on his mind was that Damien passed out on the floor next to the bed. However, Damien wasn't there. He found him, strangely cheerful, talking to Sanga at the counter

"Hey, dog lord. How is your hangover?" he asked Damien.

"I had worse, half-breed." Damien joked, laughing at his own answer. "Hey, Sanga asked me to do something for her. Can you please let Bela know? We planned to play some cards."

"Sure, don't do anything stupid!"

Sayo knew Sanga probably asked him to 'persuade' some lout who owed her money.

A moment later, Isabela woke up, looking really bad. She could barely walk straight, holding her hand on her forehead.

"Ugh, my head…"

"Captain! Damien said…"

"Can you please keep your voice down? I'm having the worst hangover, ever!" she barely muttered the words without throwing up.

Sayo knew it will take only a few moments until the captain is back to normal. Some people recover for a whole weekend, but after a few hours Isabela already found some men, persuading them to play cards with her. Of course, she was cheating like crazy, and took all their money. And then, of course, she provoked them and they drew their swords at her.

"Idiots." Sayo thought, thinking it amusing as they lost, three against one. They ran away in fear, screaming: "Run! She's too good!"

"You should be glad I only took your coins!" she chuckled, watching them as they ran away. "Fools." She muttered.

"Nice show, Captain!" Sayo laughed so hard, he didn't even notice people standing next to him. One of them was an elf, and he stepped to their table, looking at Isabela with a curious stare.

"Excuse me?" the elf said.

Sayo looked towards the source of the voice. It was Dalish, wearing Warden armor. Next to him stood a woman with a raven hair and cat-like eyes. There was also a man wearing Warden armor, with blond hair and playful eyes, and then Sayo felt his legs go numb. Standing there, next to the Warden was a beautiful redhead with deep blue eyes, looking at him like she saw a ghost. Her hair was cut to the shoulders, but he recognized that face.

"S-Sayo…?" she finally found the words.

"Leliana…?" In the matter of seconds, Leliana ran forward, jumping on him and hugging him so tight he lost his breath.

"You're alive! I was so worried about you and… where is Damien?" she said, looking around the brothel.

"He… is out, somewhere."

"Well, well. Isn't this my sweet little Sayo?" blonde elf with dark skin and noticeably Antivan accent walked behind Sayo, pinching his butt.

"What the… Zev!" Sayo felt the blood rushing to his cheeks, and thought he would faint. Leliana and Zevran were both here, at the same time! Sayo got so confused, he didn't even notice Damien walking in, throwing a heavy pouch of gold in Sanga's ready palm.

"I hope you didn't hit him too hard." Sanga chuckled.

"Maker, Sanga… of course not! I just tickled him a bit, until his ribs cracked. I swear, that's all." He answered with heavy sarcasm in his voice.

"Damien…" Leliana slowly walked towards him. Damien looked at her and had that same, dumb, stunned face he had three years ago when he saw her for the first time. Sayo smiled at his friend. Suddenly, Damien rushed towards Leliana, hugging her so hard Sayo could almost hear her bones cracking. And then, everyone stared at them, stunned by the scene.

Sayo didn't notice at first.

"Oh, so THAT'S Damie's girlfriend!" Isabela teased. When he looked again, he noticed Damien kissing her.


	8. Old Friends, Old Enemies

Damien managed to recover from the shock. Realization what he did struck him like a raging Qunari. The warmth slowly filled his cheeks, it turned into anger and annoyance.

 _Well played, idiot! The first instant reaction you had when you saw Leliana is to slap a fucking kiss!_

In all the anger, his heart started beating faster, his hands and back covered in cold sweat. He was shaking, and intense feeling of depersonalization struck him. How many seconds, or minutes passed?

 _Maybe I should move. But what then?_

He slowly moved his lips from Leliana's, still gently holding her cheeks as he looked at her. Her eyes looked at him with stunned expression, without a single blink of the eye.

 _Good job! Now what? Maybe I should just say something. But what? Just say something!_

Whereas Damien was a stunned idiot at this moment, Leliana was socially savvy so she broke the uncomfortable silence. She smiled, touched his cheek and said:" You grew your beard, I see." With a soft smile, running her fingers through his hair.

"I took your advice." He barely uttered words through his tight throat, pulsing from the hard beating of his raging heart.

"Looks good on you." She gently said, with a bit of a teasing undertone.

 _So I guess we are continuing out flirty teasing from three years ago._

Thought crossed his mind as he smiled and leant his head on her forehead. She closed her eyes, and he followed the suit, enjoying her smell, voice, eyes. After three years, she was finally here. She was here, in his arms and this heavy mountain he carried around his neck slowly dissolved to dust.

"Hey, Damie… I know you're happy to see your girlfriend and all…" Isabela jumped between them."… but please, get the room."

When his panic subsided, Damien finally looked around. Some strangers stared at them, curious about the whole love affair. Some of them were confused, obviously thinking their display was rather impolite. Then he also noticed a familiar person with blonde hair and dark, olive skin.

"Zevran?! Andraste's tits, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, some things happened and I decided to leave the Crows. And, I must say, Sayo you look dashing in those clothes." Zevran leaned on the wall, checking Sayo's bosom, obviously trying to see his cleavage. Sayo blushed so much, it made Damien burst into laughter.

"Oh, Zev! I missed you so much. Not as much as Sayo, though." He said laughing, while Sayo blushed even harder.

"Will you two stop?!" He said irritated, removing Zevran's hands from him.

"After all we've been through, you are still playing hard to get." Zevran said, faking disappointment. Damien burst into hearty laughter.

"You know him. He is playing hard to get, to get it hard in the end!" he said, making Zevran and Isabela crying out of laughter.

"Oh, if only you knew." Zevran said with the dreamy voice, looking like he remembers the night with Sayo.

"I heard I was about to find out, but he knocked me out cold." He looked at Sayo, faking the anger.

"What are you two talking about?" Leliana asked, visibly confused. Actually, everyone in the room looked confused. Blonde man with playful eyes played with his sword and sang something to it, Dalish elf asked Leliana what "getting it hard" meant. Only Isabela knew what they were on about, screaming from laughter, slamming the table with hand, trying hard to catch a breath.

"Just good old days in Antiva." Damien answered, wiping tears from his eyes.

Sayo was really pissed off now. "I swear, if you don't shut up, I will kill both of you!"

"But you're so cute when you are angry, Browncake!" Isabela said still laughing.

"Browncake?" Zevran looked at Sayo amused by what will he say.

"Yes, yes! I am sweet and brown! Piss off!" Everyone laughed out loud once again.

"Excuse me, miss, I... I saw you fighting with those thugs a moment ago. What is that fighting style? Looks interesting." A Dalish wearing Warden armour turned his focus to Isabela.

"I know it looks _interesting,_ from the angle you were watching." She answered, putting an emphasis on the perverted meaning behind her words.

Poor elf started blushing. "I didn't mean..."

"It is called duelism. Something I invented." She said proudly leaning on the chair.

Damien whispered to Sayo. "Is she drunk?"

"She woke up few hours ago."

"So...yes?"

"Yeah. Poor guy, she will probably ask him to play cards with her. She's in _that_ mood again." Sayo said, sympathetically looking at the Warden.

"In that case, why don't we sit and have a drink?!" Damien pointed on the empty table, inviting Leliana and Zevran to join.

It didn't take long.

Isabela was playing Wicked Grace with the young Warden and naturally, she cheated. Apparently, the bet was to show her fighting stile if he wins. Alas, nobody wins against Isabela. Leliana, Zevran and Sayo exchanged bets as they observed the match, drinking ale. Actually, Zevran didn't bet. He was all over Sayo, flirting and teasing, and Sayo blushed so hard Damien feared his friend will faint.

"I was looking for you." Damien said, turning his gaze towards Leliana.

"Not hard enough, I would say." She answered chuckling and taking a sip.

"Where were you?"

"In the Lothering's Chantry."

The shock struck him so hard he chocked in his ale. "Chantry?!"

"Yes. I was a lay-sister for two years."

Damien let out a loud groan full of disappointment. "There goes my chance to have sex with you!"

Sayo and Zevran looked at him for a second and started laughing out loud.

"Not funny, guys!" Damien said acting like a child, laughing with everyone at the table.

"I never said I took vows." She looked at Damien over the mug, teasing with her eyes. He felt the same sensation like the one three years ago when she teased him on that bloody rooftop.

"Well, that makes things easier. I don't want to be spanked by the mighty hand of the Maker while on top of his servant. Although, that still doesn't diminish the fact that you're a bard." He said looking at her blue eyes, waiting for her reaction.

"Oh! And you're frightened by that fact?"

"I just don't want you to slit my throat while riding me. I love kinky stuff, but I don't want to die."

"Riding you? You know there are lots of ways to kill during sex. Poison on nails and other interesting places." She said taking another sip for the mug.

Sayo and Zevran forgot about each other for a moment, listening to their conversation. Sayo wasn't sure if they're flirting or what in the Maker's name they were doing, but the tension was so hard it could be cut with the knife.

"But you wouldn't do it to me, right? After all, look how adorable I am." Damien said acting like a scared child, making some kind of a puppy face.

"Adorable?" Sayo jumped in. "You should've seen him how he slept on that table over there few days ago. He was drooling so much the whole table was flooded. Yes, Damie, you are adorable." He finished with heavy sarcasm.

"I wasn't sleeping, I passed out. There is a difference!"

They all laughed and drank their ale. Finally, Damien looked like his old self again, with cheer in his eyes, honest non-drunken smile and laughter.

"So, Browncake." Zevran turned to Sayo, leaning so close to him, his face was only inches away from Sayo's. "Is it our turn to flirt, or will you still play hard to get?"

"Oh, this will be interesting." Damien leaned on the table, interested what will come next.

Sayo was looking at Zevran, not sure how to react on sudden change of topic. But then it struck him.

"Leliana! You must flee from Denerim!" He remembered, backing off from Zevran.

"What? Why?" Leliana looked at him with a surprise.

"She's here! I saw her! She is planning to kill you!"

Damien jumped up from his chair. "WHAT?"

Everyone looked at his direction, surprised by his sudden outburst.

"Damie, sit down." Sayo tried to calm him down.

"That bitch is here, and you didn't tell me?!" Damien was raging, his face turned red.

"Remember what happened last time?" Sayo calmly reminded Damien. He dropped his head, sat down on his chair, looking at his mug still surprised by the information.

"I know she's here." Leliana said, spinning the mug in her hand. "I'm planning to go see her, in fact."

"What? Why? She will kill you!" Damien looked at her, honestly concerned.

"She won't. Damien, please stay out of this." She looked up to his brown eyes, begging him.

"No!"

"Damie! She is right. We need to stay out of this!" Sayo tried to reason with his friend.

Leliana took Damien's hand. They looked each other in eyes for few seconds. Damien pulled his hand out, groaning. "Fine!"

Warden came to their table, telling Leliana they're leaving. She got up, looking at Damien before she placed a kiss on his cheek. "I'll be staying in a Gnawed Noble. Come see me later."

"Sure, if you survive." He said, cynically. Leliana chuckled and turn on the heel, leaving the brothel with her companions.

"Come, Sayo!" after few moments, Damien stood up, walking towards the door.

"Where?" He asked, although he already knew the answer.

"We are following them. I can't just sit here knowing what she's about to do!"

"Damie...She told you..."

"I don't care! We have every right to be there!" Damien yelled, anger rising in his stomach. He rushed out, slamming the door.

 _How long will I have to babysit this idiot?_ Sayo thought, rushing to Damien, begging every god he knew he doesn't do anything stupid.

Leliana walked towards the tavern. After some couple of minutes, she came out, followed by the same Dalish Warden, some Qunari with huge sword and raven haired woman. They quietly followed them to some inconspicuous house near the bazaar.

Damien said, looking at the door. "So… this must be the house."

"And what is your plan? Knock the door politely, until someone opens?" Sayo said sarcastically.

"In fact, that's exactly what I plan to do." Damien said, with mischievous glare.

"What..." Sayo didn't have time to finish his question. Damien rushed towards the door, slamming it with his foot and yelled "KNOCK, KNOCK!"The door separated from the hinges by the force of his kick and fell on the floor with a loud thud.

When the dust finally cleared out, Damien noticed everyone looked at him, stunned.

"Yo! I heard there is some Orlesian whore here, so I came to check it out." He said jokingly reaching to his daggers. He noticed two heavy armoured men behind her, and he could feel there are probably more lurking around the house waiting for the right moment to strike.

"Damien! I told you..." Leliana's voice was shaking.

"Well, well. Ferelden… mutt and his little half breed friend. I can't believe you are alive." Marjolaine put so much disgust into word mutt that Damien's blood started to boil. She threw another disdainful glance at two friends, smirking.

"Did you understand anything she said?" Damien leaned to Sayo. "All I hear is splashing of crap coming from her mouth."

"Damien! Get out of here!" Leliana said begging.

"No! I can't let you fight her on your own!"

Sayo noticed Damien's eyes harboured the same hatred they had two years ago, when they found out what happened to Leliana, Tug and Sketch.

Leliana let out a sigh, turning her head towards a huge heavy armoured Qunari. "Sten, I am sorry to ask you this, but can you..."

The Qunari silently groaned looking at her like he's thinking should he do what she asks or not. He started to move towards Damien, stopping few inches from him, unsheathing a huge greatsword.

"Wow..." Damien was amazed by the size of that thing. _She just gave an order to a fucking Qunari! Maker, I want her even more!_

Damien was little bit scared by Qunari, so was Sayo. Sten's glare stopped, fixing at Damien, ready to act if he moves.

"That's not fair, Leliana! I don't have a Qunari!" Damien said loudly like a child, still looking at Sten, thinking what to do now.

 _"_ _Even a Qunari can't make him normal."_ Sayo thought, chuckling at his friend's childish joke.

"What are you up to, Marjolaine? Why are you in Ferelden?" Leliana said, turning her focus on the woman in front of her. Her voice was shaking, like she will cry out of rage any moment.

"In truth? You have knowledge that you can use against me." Marjolaine answered, having a psychotic look in her eyes, smirking at everyone in the house. "For my own safety, I cannot let you be. Did you think I did not know where you were? Did you think I would not watch my Leliana?"

"Damie, there are some guys outside." Sayo whispered.

"I know. But as you can see, I can't do anything. There's a Qunari in my way." Damien answered as he tried to hear the conversation Leliana and Marjolaine had.

 _There must be some kind of a sign that will alert those bastards to engage._

He thought, looking around the edges of the room.

"Clever, Leliana, very clever. You almost had me fooled. But then you left the Chantry, so suddenly. What conclusion should I draw? You tell me."

"You think I left because of you? You think I still have some plan for...for revenge? You are insane! Paranoid!"

"You don't say!" Damien said sarcastically.

"The Blight is what concerns Leliana now!" Dalish Warden said angrily.

"Oh, is that what you think?" Marjolaine laughed. "If I were you, I would believe nothing she says."

With the corner of his eye, Damien finally noticed a movement outside the window. He gripped his daggers.

"They are close." He whispered. "Oh, large one, will you let me fight for my life?" He looked up to the Qunari. He kept glaring, saying nothing.

"Maybe if you say please?" Sayo joked, reaching his daggers.

"Why don't you try, smartass?" Damien looked around, trying to find out how many opponents they're about to face.

"I trust Leliana, no matter what!" Warden was angry now.

"Thank you." Leliana said gently. "You will not threaten me or my friends again, Marjolaine! I want you out of my life, forever!"

"Don't tell me she's planning to let her go away." Damien sighed in disbelief.

"You've caused too much pain for too many. It ends here!"Leliana unsheathed her daggers.

"She scared me for a second there." Damien smirked.

"They're all around the house. You take those on the right?" Sayo said, giving his friend a wink.

Damien smiled, nodding. "Let's dance!"

"I made you, Leliana. I can destroy you just as easily." Marjolaine exclaimed.

Suddenly, windows shattered as mercenaries jumped in. Damien and Sayo didn't wait a second as they threw their daggers at them. Knife in flight lodged deep in thug's head with a cracking, fleshy sound. Damien jumped to the side, evading opponents huge maul. He saw an opening, thrusting his dagger deep between his rib cage. Damien felt the vibration of his enemy's last heartbeat traveling through the blade.

After Sayo split first thug's head open and pulled knife out, he instantly ran towards the other, jumped and slit his throat. The blood spilled across his silver plate. He looked around to see if there are any more left. As he looked around he saw Leliana, standing in front of Marjolaine. Marjolaine held her stomach, bleeding in jets. Damien noticed her intestines pouring over the fingers.

Damien walked towards the dead body of a thug he threw his dagger on. It hit him directly in the eye.

 _Bullseye!_

He smiled to himself, pulling the dagger out. Fighting was over, so he ran to Leliana.

Marjolaine noticed her entrails pouring out with a panicked look on her face, and she fell down on the floor in the pool of her own blood.

"Leliana… how could you…" Marjolaine muttered, as her eyes gradually became lifeless. It didn't take long for a pierced, cut, gutted woman to bleed her life out. Leliana looked at her twitching corpse in shock. He came behind her, placing his hand on her shoulder. She was shivering.

"Leli?" He said concerned.

"It's over. She is dead." She said, her voice sounded like she had a lump in her throat. "She's dead because of me! I...I need some time..." She ran out. Her companions followed her.

The Dalish Warden turned around, and looked at Sayo. " _Ma serannas."_

 _"_ _Sahlin revas, Dal'en."_ Sayo answered. Warden smiled, leaving the house.

"She doesn't deserve a peaceful death. We should tear her body apart and throw it to the dogs." Damien said, looking at Marjolaine's corpse.

"Damie, let's go before guards arrive."

"What in the Maker's name happened to you?" Sanga gasped when Damien and Sayo walked in The Pearl.

"What?" Damien said, confused.

"You are covered in blood!"

"Oh, so that is why people were looking at us like that." Sayo and Damien laughed, while Sanga was shaking her head in disbelief.

After they washed themselves, they sat by the table with Isabela and Casavir.

"So, did you save your girlfriend like a brave prince?" Isabela teased.

"She's not my girlfriend." Damien answered, annoyed by her constant teasing.

They talked and laughed for some time. When he finished his ale, Damien stood up. "I'm going out."

"Where?" Sayo asked.

"To see his girlfriend, of course." Isabela smirked.

"For the love of the Maker, Bela! She's not my girlfriend!" He yelled as he left the brothel.

Sunset coloured Denerim in the shades of orange, shops were closing, merchants in market packed up their goods. People finished their work up, readying themselves for warm family dinners. Damien entered the tavern, appropriately named Gnawed Noble. Inside, tavern smelled like smoke and ale. He took a moment to enjoy the familiar scent. Soon, Damien noticed that Dalish Warden, Zevran and a Qunari sitting and drinking.

"This sounds like start of a joke. Elf, assassin and Qunari enter the bar…" Damien said as he walked towards their table.

"My dear Spider! Sayo is not with you?" Zevran asked, disappointed when he saw Damien alone.

"No. Where is Leliana?" He asked, showing he's, in fact, not in the mood for any kind of pleasant talk.

"She is in her room." Dalish said. "First door on the left."

"Thanks. _"_ Damien uttered.

He walked to the counter, asking tavern keeper for a bottle of whiskey and two mugs. As he came close to the door of Leliana's room, the anxiety stuck him like a wave. _Calm down. Just try to...be normal._ He heard voices inside the room. He raised his fist and knocked on the door.

When the door opened in front of him stood an elderly woman with grey hair and kind look in her eyes.

"You must be Leliana's friend." She said, with a warm gentle smile. "I'll leave you two alone." She said leaving the room.

Damien entered and saw Leliana sitting on the edge of bed, hugging her legs, her chin leaned on the knees.

"Isn't she too old for you?" Damien couldn't help himself not to crack a joke.

"I'm not in the mood, Damie." Tone of her voice showed she was crying few moments ago.

"Sorry." He placed a stool next to the night stand, sat on it and started pouring the whiskey in mugs.

"Thank you." Leliana reached the mug, and took a sip.

They were sitting in silence, drinking. Damien looked at her, thinking what to say.

 _Balls! I'm really bad at this emotional stuff!_

"Are you...alright?" He broke the silence.

"I'm fine. I'm just thinking." She said looking at the mug in her hands. "I can't get what happened out of my head. I'd been in Lothering for years and she still thought I was plotting against her. She didn't trust me. Maybe she never did."

She took a sip to ease the lump forming in her throat. Damien was sitting calmly, listening to her and remembering what Ben told them about Marjolaine.

"She loved me when she could use me and control me, and now that she can't, she wants me dead. It...It hurts to realize that I never knew her." Tears started to form in her eyes.

"Leli, stop torturing yourself. She's dead. It's over. You're free." Damien tried to comfort her.

Suddenly, Leliana jumped up and started frantically pacing around the room. Damien didn't move from his chair.

"What if she's right! What if we're the same? I...I should just have stayed in the Chantry."

"Leliana, you are nothing like her!"

"When I killed her I...I enjoyed it! Seeing her dead gave me satisfaction!"

 _Not as much as me._ Damien thought. She cried and paced nervously around the room. Damien couldn't just sit anymore. He stood up and rushed towards her, hugging her as hard as he could.

"Don't punish yourself, Leli! Don't let her haunt you anymore!" He whispered, trying his best to calm her down.

"But that is no reason to rejoice over her death. That is what she would do. I don't want that." She sobbed, burying her face on his chest, shivering.

"Look at me." Damien said calmly, gently pushing her away. He placed his hand under her chin and tilted her head up. Her deep blue eyes, filled with tears met his. _Oh, Maker, she's beautiful! I want to kiss her!_

"You are not like her, Leli." He said, wiping tears from her cheeks. "It's normal you feel like that after you killed her. For Maker's sake, she gave you to the guards that tortured you and... did terrible things to you!"

"How do you know that?" She asked suspiciously.

"Well...I..." Damien wasn't sure if he should tell her what he did. "I found out from Sanga some Orlesians were here. She didn't tell me your names but I knew it was you guys. Long story short, I snapped, captured a guard, tortured him until he told me everything."

Leliana was looking at him, like she was trying to read his mind to find out what exactly he did to that man.

"Apparently I have anger issues." He tried to joke again. Leliana chuckled, shaking her head.

"You haven't changed at all." She said, leaning closer to him. Her face was so close to his, he could feel her breath on his lips. He couldn't wait any longer. He kissed her passionately. She started to unbuckle his belt, taking his sleeveless coat off. _It's happening! It's actually happening!_

He lifted her up, her legs hugged him around his waist as he carried her to the bed. They were kissing, taking their clothes off, and few moments later they were naked. He started to kiss her neck and collarbone. Leliana shivered and silently moaned, as his tongue ran all over her body, and gently slid between her thighs. Her soft moans drove him mad, he couldn't resist anymore. He gently placed a weight of his body on her soft skin, and slowly inserted himself into her. She helped him slide deeper into her with a gentle move of her waist, and afterwards they were both moving together, breathing heavily and moaning, kissing and biting their lips, neck, shoulders. Leliana rolled over so she was on top now, moving faster. Few moments later Leliana screamed out in pleasure as she climaxed, Damien together with her letting out a loud moan.

He held her head close to his chest as they tried to catch a breath. After his heavy breathing had subsided, Damien asked:" Can you tell me a story?"

"A story? Which one would you like to hear?" Leliana chuckled. She rolled off him and lay beside him.

"I don't know, you pick one." he said, while he crawled between her legs, with his head placed on her stomach.

"How about a tale of Aveline, the knight of Orlais?"

"Sure."

Leliana started to recite a tale of some woman, raised by the elves, fighting in some rather unimportant tournament. He didn't really care for the story - he just wanted to listen to her voice. He gently caressed the scar on her stomach, one that looked like a stab wound. He kissed the scar gently, and started planting kiss after kiss lower towards the south.

"Are you even listening to me?" Leliana chuckled. "If you ask for the story, it would be polite to hear the end of it."

"I never said you should stop." Damien teased, dangerously close to his destination.

"You tease!" She didn't laugh long, as Damien started to massage her with his tongue. _Maker, I don't want this night to end._

Loud knocking on the door woke Damien and Leliana up. Damien couldn't remember when they fell asleep, or when was the last time he slept so peacefully.

"Leliana? Are you awake?" The familiar voice asked.

"Yes! I'll be there in a minute!" Leliana started to panic, running around the room, picking her clothes up. "Get up! I must go!"

"Can we do one more round? I can finish in five minutes if I try really hard." Damien joked, getting up and walking towards Leliana. She smiled and placed gentle kiss on his lips.

"I can't. I must go." She started to put clothes on as fast as she could. "Are you going out naked?" she asked.

Damien was still standing, naked, looking at her as she was getting ready to leave.

"No." He said, and started to put his clothes on. After they were dressed again, they ran out the room. In the tavern Leliana's companions looked at them with amused smirks, some disapproving. _I can guess who couldn't sleep last night._ He thought, barely suppressing dire urge to laugh.

"Um…" Leliana looked at him, not knowing what to say.

"Will I ever see you again?" He interrupted her.

"I hope so." She said. As she kissed him, tears started sliding down her cheeks. He held her as she cried. Damien bit his lip. He felt he won't see her for quite some time, and it was so hard. One night wasn't enough.

"Try to stay alive until then." He whispered. Leliana swallowed the tears and gently said:"You too."

She was gone again. Damien stood in the middle of tavern for few minutes, trying to ease the pain in his chest. _Bela will drive me insane with this._ He thought as he walked out on the morning sun, thinking about all the questions and teasing he will get from Isabela, Sayo and Casavir.


	9. Some Pirate Business

"Isabela, we cannot tolerate your debt anymore! I don't care a whit if you're part of the Armada yourself. We're pirates, not a charitable organization!" A man with the long, pointy whiskers argued with Isabela.

Just yesterday, as they sailed on the open sea a vessel even bigger than Siren's call intercepted them, connecting to their deck with long grappling hooks. Some loan shark who commanded the ship called "Shark of the Waking Sea" intercepted debtors, demanding their payment or their life.

"Oh, are you serious?! Look, I told Castillon, I'll pay him every single sovereign! I just need a little bit more time!"

"Time is what you don't have, my dear Isabela. Pay up now, or my men and I will have to take your ship by force!"

"Wait!" Isabela panicked, noticing she's both out-manned and underpowered.

"I'd rather not throw you to the sea. We've been good friends for years now. But Armada demands payment, one way or another." captain said, letting out a sigh.

"It seems we are at an impasse, then." Isabela said, playing with her golden earring.

"Look, Isabela. I've been working at this job for twenty years. I've never returned with an uncollected debt. I'm not going to slander my good name by letting you go."

"Of course not. But I'm sure Castillon has some extraordinary job I can do."

Man looked at her, rolling a tip of the whisker around his finger. He was in deep thoughts for a moment and then a flash of idea glimmered in his eyes.

"As it turns out, there's one job offer he has and so far, nobody accepted it. Something about the nature of the cargo or something. My guess is that the big boss hauls lyrium, or something else. Drives a good man crazy, that thing."

"Raw lyrium, huh? Sounds illegal." Isabela smiled.

"Don't act all knight-like now! You're a pirate, same as I."

"Oh, don't take this as a sign of rejection. Price of the cargo might just be high enough to secure my debt."

Shark of the Waking Sea accompanied Siren's call, constantly aiming at its hull with powerful triple cannons. It was a mighty, stout frigate, throwing a shadow upon Isabela's swift carrack. The look on her face was worried, as she stared down the foaming sea, sitting on a bowsprit. Travel to Armada's headquarters in Llomeryn was tense, but without a hitch. However, as they docked Sayo's eyes darkened.

Isabela and Damien both noticed half-elf's reaction.

"This is the town where you were born, right?" he asked. Isabela listened.

"Indeed. I can't believe I became a pirate." he said, with a deep anger in his voice.

"We don't have to dock if you don't want. We can stay on the ship." Damien offered a consolation.

Isabela interrupted their speech. Both Damien and Sayo turned to her, with a curious look in their eyes.

"Do my ears deceive me, or did a pair of pussies just start talking?" she said, placing hands on their shoulders.

"Now listen here..." Damien's eyes darkened.

"I know what this is about. Your pretty elf-friend is terrified of this town. Most be terrible, returning to the place you hate. Listen, I have a perfect story for occasion. It might help you put things into perspective."

"Sayo won't go into town anyway. We might as well stay and listen."

"Do you know what happened to my late husband?" she asked.

"I guess you ate his heart." Damien cracked a joke.

"I wish I did. My late husband bought me from my mother, because he desired me. A foolish man thought he could buy my love with gifts. It would probably remain the same, if I didn't meet Zevran. My husband intended to keep me caged there, serving him as I did. Not so long afterwards, he was assassinated in his sleep. I would kill him anyway, but this time it wasn't me. Lucky for me, isn't it? I was free."

"Is there a point in this story?" Sayo asked.

"Hold your horses. I'm almost there. Mmmhm, where was I? Oh yes, Armada offered me a freedom, a chance to wreak havoc, plunder and fuck. I didn't have to care about my past any more. Neither should you. I know we pirates can be fucking assholes. But not all of us are idiots like those who murdered your mom, sweetie. If I was there, I would slit their throats and adopt you. Alright, maybe I wouldn't adopt you. Now, you have two options."

"I hate pirates. Nothing you say can change that." Sayo brooded.

"Right, you hate pirates. I get it. But you can either stay here in this fucking hole of town, or you can stay with me and get over that past. I can't promise we won't pillage and murder and fuck, but I can promise we would never harm anyone who doesn't deserve it."

"How is that any different?" Sayo asked.

"We are not Crows. I would never force you to kill people. Hell, I would help you save those elves in Alienage."

"Alright, Isabela. I'll trust you, for now." Sayo said.

"Good. Now let's go drown our sorrows in kegs full of rum. I'm better at drinking than talking."

Town of Llomeryn, as it turned out, looked completely different from how he remembered it. It could be compared to the feeling of leaving home, returning after a long time and realizing everything looks somehow different than you remember. Dirty docks had the stench of fish and sweat, and ironically, it's all Sayo remembered. Even more strange is that this smell actually made him remember his childhood.

At the end of the docks, nearing the down-town entrance, sat a pair of statues shaking each other's hand, making an archway. One depicted a large Qunari Arishok, and another a human ambassador. The names of the respective people were weathered, but the letters on the plaque still said: "Commemoration of peace between Rivain and Par Vollen."

Sayo remembered he once took a piss under the statue, being chased by the city guard afterwards. He jumped at the cold, smelly sea in the middle of the night, almost drowning. Luckily, he was saved by a sailor who came out of the tavern to get some fresh air. Mayhap that was the reason Sayo feared the sea, as much as he respected it. The feeling of deep ocean grabbing him with the gluttonous fangs, eternity of the water threatening to wipe his very memory…

"Sayo, are you alright?" Damien asked, shaking his arm.

"Oh, yes. I've just remembered something."

Small group headed beneath the statues, towards a crowded bazaar filled with exotic smells combined with stench of sweat and dead fish, almost stepping on beggars that filled the city street. It seemed as if the beggary became a profession of its own in Llomerryn. Damien counted beggars on the street, stopping at one hundred and fifteen before he finally got bored. They've passed through the bazaar appropriately named Beggar's street, taking a turn right before they finally reached a small tavern squeezed between two larger buildings.

A smell of smoke and cooked food came through the doors opened just a crack, and Damien pushed them ecstatically, being hungry for some proper, cooked food. As Sayo, Isabela and Casavir entered the building, Damien already sat there, eyeing a red-headed tavern wench that served beer to some pirate who groped her, making the woman giggle.

"That lousy faggot." Isabela muttered.

"What, Captain? Need somebody to pinch your butt as well?" Casavir joked.

"Oh I do have those who pinch my butt. They at least have some teeth left. Well, some of them."

"Fair enough."

Sayo sat with Damien, ordering a meal and Isabela soon joined them, buying drinks for the whole table. When the tavern wench finally brought a tray full of ale, Isabela gave her a wink and she slipped a paper out of her pocket, balancing beer on one hand. Isabela straightened the rolled paper out, demanding attention of Damien whose eyes naturally ended up on redhead's butt cheeks.

The paper, written carefully by an educated hand, got a seal of Armada as well as a handwritten sign by the top ranking representatives, including Castillon.

"The cargo... bay forty zero two. Nature of the cargo revealed privately… one thousand sovereigns.. ONE THOUSAND SOVEREIGNS?!" Isabela screamed when she realized how much money is involved with this task. Many pirates in the tavern turned her eyes towards her.

"I've lost one thousand sovereigns! How will I ever get it back, oh Maker!" she screamed, skilfully avoiding more questions.

"What's the cargo like?" Casavir asked.

"Oh, sometimes I forget you don't know how to read. Cargo will be revealed privately.. but the price... we can live rich for decades with this money!" she whispered into his ear. His eyes squinted.

"Don't you think this is suspicious, Captain?" he asked.

"To hell with being careful. Life's a risk anyway, isn't it?" she asked. Sayo and Damien nodded, not really knowing what this all is about.

"Our debt to Castillon is five hundred sovereigns anyway. Five hundred is ours, but we can't take all thousand and leave." Casavir reminded her.

"Oh balls. You're right, of course. The debt. Well, if I don't pay the debt Armada will destroy my ship. My Siren is more important to me than any money. Right then. Let's put our gloves on and dig in the shit." she smirked.

"That's what I like to hear. What about those two? They've been with us for a short time. You think they're up to the task?"

"As long as they don't eat the lyrium or insert it down their ass, it's fine. Anyway, Castillon lives on the far end of the street, and owns a warehouse by the docks. Let's go."

Armada pirates brought Siren's call to the warehouse, bringing the ladders down for the easier cargo transport. Isabela didn't like it – Siren was like her lover, and the touch of a stranger made her jealous. However, to save her, she was willing to take a risk. Castillon appeared soon after – a tall, strong built human. His azure eyes had a ruthless glint to them, along with his tight lips and neatly trimmed, short hair. He gave out an aura of arrogance and confidence, giving the feeling of somebody who's so powerful that a lesser man can't even dare to hope laying a finger on him. He took a graceful step towards the big, closed crate, inspecting it with his fingers adorned with crude rings bearing Kirkwall insignia.

"I take it you're Isabela. We haven't had a chance to talk much. Still sailing on your late husband's ship?" he asked.

"My name is Isabela. That's a large crate. Making a fortune for yourself, I reckon?" she asked, ignoring his question.

"Of course. Man has to make a living somehow. Listen, the job is very simple. The Ferelden got its ass bit by the Blight, as much as you already guessed. The refugee leader paid me to transport him and his buddies to Free Marches. A rather simple task, don't you agree?"

"Refugees, huh?" she asked, opening a hatch on one of the crates. One man looked at her, but she didn't catch a good look before Castillon slammed the hatch shut.

"Some of them might have a disease. They say it's not spreading through the air, but why taking a chance?" he asked.

"Right. Now, onto the bureaucratic part."

"Deal is simple – you will take those refugees to Free Marches. That will secure one part of your debt. My men will pay you five hundred more as a reward for bringing them safe. Also, here…" he said, walking briskly towards the warehouse, taking a scroll of paper, giving Isabela a pencil dipped in ink.

"Sign… here." He said, pointing at the blank space.

Isabela read it carefully, memorizing every word. The look upon her face seemed mistrustful for a moment, but then she looked at the heavy coffer of gold his men carried to their ship and soon forgot the reason for mistrust. She swiftly signed the paper, handing the pencil back to Castillon who put it on his sleeve and crossed hands behind his back. Standing firm and upright, he looked down the water and said:"The sea is really calm, and it will be for several days. Take these refugees to Kirkwall, dyke. That's where you will meet with the rest of my men."

"Dyke, you say. Like that's an insult to me." She laughed.

They sailed out onto the sea just an hour later, after Castillon's men carried a large closed box with refugees in the storage area. As much as Sayo and Damien wanted to stay in the Llomeryn, the clock was ticking and Isabela really wanted to sail out as soon as possible. Luckily, the sea wasn't a harsh mistress. Slight breeze gently touched Siren's sails, pushing the carrack down the water, as Isabela gently held a steering wheel.

That night, they had a banquet to celebrate their future wealth. Isabela brought out a barrel of rum, serving drinks to their crew.

"Hey, Isabela... can I grope YOUR butt?" Casavir asked, completely drunk.

"Do it, and you'll lose your fingers." she said, completely serious.

"Awwwh, you're no fun, Captain! We should aire.. hair... hire a wench to keep us boys happy here."

Large 'Yeah' was heard as a response to his words. Isabela just laughed, drinking a bit of rum and brushing it from her lips.

"I might do that, for private reasons." she smiled.

At the same time, Sayo and Damien played cards with a boy who cleaned the decks and the ship. He was relieved from his cleaning duty tonight, and he joined two former assassins in the party of Wicked Grace.

"Do you always play Wicked Grace?" he asked. Damien placed a card on the table, but when Sayo answered he folded and cussed into his beard. Only then he noticed a boy asked something.

"What did you say?"

"I asked, do you always play Wicked Grace?"

"Yes, why do you ask?" Damien asked, as Sayo pulled three gold towards the safety of his bosom.

"Where I come from, we play Lucky 21. The goal of the game is to pile the numbers, and the person who reaches 21 or closest to 21 takes the money. Each player starts with eight cards, from 1 to 8. There are two decks of cards on the table. One is marked with 4-6, and another with 5-9. The cards in those decks are randomly numbered, with numbers from 4-6 in one deck, and 5-9 in another. Following me?" he asked.

Both men nodded.

"Each player has cards in his hand, and he pulls the cards from the stack. The outcome of the game is pure luck, but there's tactics involved. If you pass 21 when you pull the card, you lose all the money you're betting on. So you have to know when to stop drawing cards."

"I like Wicked Grace more." Damien pouted his lips.

"Yeah, I guessed so. I bet only aliens still play Lucky 21."

Damien felt his stomach churning because of the rocking ship and the alcohol. Suddenly, he felt an acidic taste in his mouth and rushed towards the deck to throw up.

He stayed on the deck, leaned over the rail, trying to pull himself together. After he found some strength to walk again he went down the stairs, but his drunk mind forgot how to get back to the room where he was. He went another way, going down the stairs, in the storage area. First, he noticed the room looked completely different and darker.

"Sayo? You there?" he asked, still oblivious to the fact that he picked the wrong door.

 _"_ _Oh shit. I must have taken the wrong door."_ he finally realized. As he turned to go back to the deck, suddenly he heard something which made his blood freeze.

"Help..." somebody muttered from the darkness. He stopped in his tracks, taking a lantern barely visible in the darkness, firing it up to light the space. It was a storage area, indeed, and Damien noticed a closed crate sitting by the far end of the wall.

"Is somebody there?" he asked.

"Please, help us..." the voice answered. Damien rushed towards the crate. The hatch on the crate was locked, but he used the small knife from his boot to unlock the padlock. When he opened the hatch, he lit the faces of the refugees inside. Every single one of them had chains around their arms and one around their neck, with a long chain that held them all together.

"You're that pirate! Blight take you all!" an old man yelled.

"Calm down, old codger. We're taking you all to Kirkwall. You'll be safe there."

"Safe?! You think you're funny, boy?! Kirkwall, a city of chains! So fitting!"

"What are you talking about?!" Damien got annoyed by his raspy, old voice.

"You don't know? Get out of here, you stupid pirate! Leave us to our misery!"

Damien took a firm step forward and looked the man right in the eyes.

"Look, old fool. I may be young, but I'm definitively not stupid! If you tell me what's wrong, I can help you. But judging by your demeanour, sitting in that crate might do you good."

Old man let out a sigh, and his eyes watered.

"That damned fool Castillon! He offered us a transport to Free Marches. My family is here, oh Maker! My dearest granddaughter is sick with the flu, and he put a chain on her neck and on her arms! We're sold to the slavery, boy! There's no safety for us!"

Damien felt the creeps going down his spine. Slavery? Nobody ever talked about slavery!

"Slavery? What are you talking about?" he asked, as his stomach started churning, twice in a short period of time. He was still drunk, and even like this, he felt the gravity of the situation.

"We're not going to be free! Castillon's men will take us to the port and hand us over to Tevinter slavers! I'm not the only one with the family here. Some elves fleeing the Denerim Alienage are also here, as well as a small group of surface dwarves. If you don't help us, we'll never have our freedom again!"

Damien felt as if his back hit the wall. This was Isabela's affair, and she didn't know anything about it. He felt obliged to tell her everything.

"Listen, old codger. I'll inform my captain about this. If she knew you were slaves, she would never accept the deal!"

"Do whatever you can. Just don't give us to Castillon's men!"

He ran up to the deck again, tripping couple of times on the blighted stairs that looked much higher than usual. Before he got to the captain's cabin, his stomach started to scream again and he threw up once more.

Damien entered Captain's cabin, still drunk, barely finding the way towards the far end of the ship. He didn't pay attention to sounds coming from in there. As he opened the door, pressing on handle with all of his drunken weight, he practically fell on the floor. First, he didn't hear Isabela's surprised sigh. As he raised his eyes, he saw Isabela standing up, wearing nothing but a thin blanket. The man on the bed was tied with straps, blindfolded. It almost looked as if she blushed, but Damien knew she isn't shy, so it was probably just a rum judging by several bottles around the bed.

"What the fuck, Damie?! Can't you knock?! Blight take me, you're drunk!" she exclaimed, surprised as much as he.

"I threw up most of it." He muttered, giggling, before he turned to his captain with dead serious expression." Listen, captain! There are people below the deck!"

Isabela looked at him with a mocking grin on her face.

"You don't say." She said. Look in her eyes practically begged him to leave. Damien lost footing and grabbed the door handle to raise himself up.

"Those refugees are slaves, Bela! Castillon plans to sell them into slavery!"

Isabela regarded his face for a while, trying to discern whether he lies or not. When she couldn't find a trace of lie, the grin from her face completely disappeared.

"What?!" she said.

"Castillon won't let those refugees free. He plans to sell them into slavery."

Isabela looked at the man lying on her bed. She let out a sigh.

"Ugh, look… can we talk about this later?"

"It's important!"

"Maker's hairy arse, Damie! Let me fuck in peace! I'll come as soon as I'm done!"

Damien indeed left the room, but he couldn't shake the uneasiness from his gut. Casavir was on the deck, peering into distance, probably to clear his drunken mind. He noticed Damien, and looked at him with a mocking grin.

"What's wrong, dog lord?" he asked.

"Piss off, Cas." Damien muttered.

"If there's something wrong on the ship, I need to know." Casavir stepped in front of him.

"You have a keen eye, for a pirate." Damien spat.

"Look, we don't have to be friends. I don't like you as well. But this will be easier if you just tell me."

Damien let out a sigh, leaning on the rail, looking down the sea.

"Those people you carry. They're all slaves. Castillon will sell them to Tevinter."

Casavir looked at him for a moment.

"What did you say?" he asked.

"You've heard me. Your refugees are actually slaves."

His face looked troubled, as if he remembered something bad.

"Does Isabela know?" he asked.

"Yeah… but she's tending to some business right now, so she shooed me out of the room."

Just as they finished a brief conversation, a man left the room wearing nothing but his underwear.

"And don't you dare coming back here again! Do you hear me?!" Isabela yelled behind him.

"Piss off!" he yelled back. Still in his underwear, he started undoing ropes on one of the boats tied to the hull of the ship, ready to leave.

"Oh Captain, you're in a bad mood!" Casavir yelled.

"That blighted idiot. I'm not a fucking whore! I mean I am, but even whores have some honour." She spat an answer from her broken lip. Damien couldn't help himself not to chuckle.

"What I have to say won't make you feel any better." Casavir said. Isabela rubbed a bit of blood coming from her broken lip and spat the rest on the floor.

"I know. Damie filled me in on the slave situation." she sighed.

Damien laughed. "I filled nothing. That guy however…" He nodded towards the man who just left the ship.

Isabela chuckled, while Casavir rolled his eyes.

"So what's the plan, Captain?" he asked.

"Well, we can't kill them, but we can't hand them to Tevinter on a silver plate. There's a sea entrance to the rocky ravine in the Free Marches. Our ship is small enough to enter there undetected. Armada doesn't know about this place – I found it out when I wanted to stash loot that I stole under their noses. I can dock my ship there."

"But it's a ravine. What will they do, act like spiders and climb the cliffs?"

"Of course not, idiot. The cave where I stashed my loot has a series of tunnels leading up to the mountains. They can escape there, and none will be the wiser."

Isabela went below the deck to meet those slaves herself. She took the lantern, opening a hatch just like Damien did. Large group of slaves inside rested in a weary sleep, mostly crouching, leaning on each other. They smelled like shit, stale food and piss. Isabela made a disgusted face, realizing just how bad their situation was.

"Casavir, these guys shit all over themselves!" Isabela yelled.

"Well what do you expect, Captain? They're packed up in there, tied by the chains."

"When I see Castillon again, I will kill him, I swear!"

"That's what I like to hear." Casavir said.

Sail towards Free Marches wasn't problematic. They've reached the rocky cliffs after a second day of sailing. Waking Sea thrashed against the rock, producing large waves, and Isabela carefully navigated around rocky spikes which would emerge out of the sea from time to time. All this time, the crew was nervous – navigating around the coast of Free Marches often ended up in tragedy, hazardous as the shore was.

The Wounded Coast stretched from the Kirkwall, all the way to the west. Later that day, as the sun slowly set down, Isabela turned the sails around, slowing the movement of the ship. As she turned wheel rudder around, it approached the entrance to the ravine, gently sailing between two steep, rugged cliffs.

Cliffside threw the deep, dark shadow across the ship, with a sun as just a thin trace of light far above their heads. Some skinny trees popped here and there, but none of them low enough to actually touch the ship. Very sailing through this narrow ravine took all of Isabela's concentration, and then they've finally reached a wider part with the entrance to the cave. Also, this is where she planned to turn her ship, since the rest of the canal wasn't wide enough.

"Boys, come! Help me unload the box out of the ship!"

Isabela ordered a command. Group of her sailors ganged to take a box outside, heaving as they did. It wasn't a large box, and they've all wondered how did those slaves even fit in there. Damien and Sayo helped put the ladder down, and Isabela used her lock picking skills to open the sliding door. Seeing the sun, some of the younger slaves started crying. An old man who talked with Damien approached him, with a badly smelling stain on his leg.

"Thank you, boy. You've given us our freedom. Maker be with you."

"Yeah yeah, sure. Go on."

Isabela and Sayo picked the locks on manacles, finally managing to unlock it after a tedious task which took her whole fifteen minutes. Men took the chain and threw it down to the sea.

"Maybe you all should just jump to the sea and swim to the cave. It might clean you up a bit." Damien added. Nobody heard him, though. Slaves celebrated their freedom, hugging each other, happy to finally be free. They've slowly left the ship, entering the cave one by one. It was a sad scene to look at – none of them actually wore anything other than some dirty rags. Most of them were, indeed, covered in faeces and dirt.

"We're doing the right thing, Isabela." Casavir said.

"Even if we don't, I've made a choice. Screw Castillon."

"Where are we supposed to go, however?"

"We set sail to anywhere. Who knows? Kirkwall is, for now, out of reach."


	10. Welcome to Kirkwall

Raging storm seemed like it was getting stronger every passing minute. The wind cut like a sharp knife, sweeping the rain in almost horizontal line. Huge waves looked like monsters, trying to embrace The Siren's Call fighting its way through, barely escaping the Qunari ship chasing her. Isabela mustered all of her strength on the helm, as she screamed the orders, cursing. The crew was all over the deck, trying to ease the sails so the wind doesn't tear them apart.

Sayo helped with sail ropes, trying his best to keep on his feet. Every time the wave struck the ship, he almost got swept away by the tide. They faced the storms like this one before but not while running away from the ship full of raging horn-heads. He looked up, trying to see if Damien is still alive.

Damien took his position in crow's nest, trying his best to inform Captain about incoming waves. He couldn't see shit, it was pitch black, the rain so thick and the wind didn't make it any easier. It was like the drops of rain were needles, poking into his face and arms. Only lightning strikes made it possible to see what is happening around them. As the lightning stroke once more, he turned his gaze behind to see the position of that blighted Qunari dreadnought.

 _Andraste's tits, they're keeping up!_

"WAVE! LEFT!" He screamed to his Captain as he noticed a huge wave approaching the ship. The wave hit the hull with a massive force.

When the lightning brightened surroundings again, Damien noticed huge rocks in front of the ship.

"ROCKS!" His throat was ripping apart by the might of his scream.

"WHAT?!" Isabela yelled, obviously not hearing what he just said.

 _"_ _Fuck! No time!"_ He thought as he leaped over the nest, sliding down the rope carried by the wind.

As soon as he landed on the deck he yelled trying to warn his crewmates. "WE WILL WRECK! LEAVE THE SHIP!" They all exchanged confused looks, not moving an inch.

He ran up to Isabela.

"ROCKS! WE'LL WRECK! RUN!" he screamed trying to outvoice the wind.

"NO FUCKING WAY!" He knew Isabela was stubborn, so without further delay he lifted her up on his shoulder and started running towards the edge of the deck.

"What the fuck are you doing! Put me down!" Isabela was squirming fiercely, but Damien's grip was strong.

He looked around for Sayo. When his eyes finally found him he screamed as hard as he could. "SAYO! JUMP!"

Sayo looked at him. He didn't know what is going on. Sayo saw Damien holding furious Isabela on his shoulder and it made no sense, but his gut told him to just follow and jump of the ship. And he did. As soon as they jumped they could hear a loud crashing sound, although they were not sure if that was a thunder or shipwreck.

The water trashed them around, from time to time they managed to emerge, catch a breath. After who knows how long Damien finally felt a firm ground on his back. He was still holding Isabela squirming in his arms. Damien mustered the last of his strength to pull both of them to the beach.

They were breathless, from all the drowning and swimming. As he lay on the sand, trying to catch a breath, sudden fear struck him. _Sayo!_ He jumped on his feet gazing around the coast.

"SAYO!"

Nothing. Then suddenly someone pushed him so hard he fell on the sandy ground.

"What the fuck did you do?!" Isabela was furious. She jumped on him, and he felt the blood in his mouth as she swung a fist into his cheek. She let out a furious scream, landing one punch, and the other.

"Why did you do that?! My ship! It's all… your… fault!" she screamed the words, punching his face after every one.

"Fuck off!" He tossed her aside, his mind still focused on Sayo. "SAYO!"

He felt like his heart will burst out of his chest. _Don't you dare leave me, half breed!_ Suddenly he saw someone crawling out of the water carried by the waves. When he ran closer he saw familiar face.

"Sayo!" He helped him get out of the raging water. Sayo wasn't sure what just happened but he was glad to see his friend doing alright. Well, except a split lip, swollen cheek and bleeding nose.

After they finally pulled themselves together, Sayo looked around trying to see anything that will point their location. "Where are we?"

"Wounded Coast." Isabela answered. "You can see Gallows from here. We are close to Kirkwall."

"What now?" Damien asked, getting on his feet.

"Well, thanks to you, we don't have a choice but to stay in this damned city!" She pierced him with her amber eyes.

"I saved your bloody life!"

She didn't answer and started walking, Damien and Sayo followed. Suddenly she stopped, turning towards Damien.

"My saviour," She said with a sarcastic tone. "Did you by any chance save the cargo?"

"What?" Damien was shocked. „We just barely survived a shipwreck, who knows if other survived. And you are worried about some damned Qunari book?"

Sayo knew they will probably kill each other if they start a fight.

"Can we please just go to some place warm and dry for the start? I'm freezing!" He jumped between them, trying to ease the tension.

Isabela looked at him, sighed and angrily started to walk again.

They finally found the tavern, with a cardboard of the Templar hanging by the ankles. It had an appropriate name "The Hanged Man." As they entered, the warmth stuck them, almost instantly relaxing their minds and bodies. Everyone inside gave them curious glares. They were soaking wet, Damien had his lip split and half of his face was covered in blood.

"They told me I can get a drink here," Isabela said, coming towards the bar. She tossed a couple of coins onto the counter. "What'll this get me?"

"It'll get you drunk, that's for sure." Barman said with a smirk.

"Wait!" Damien said, handing a couple of silvers. "Keep the liquor coming 'till the coin runs out. And make it strong."

They sat by the empty table in the far corner of the tavern. The barman brought them mugs and four bottles of whiskey. They were sitting in silence, drinking, keeping their focus on mugs in their hands.

"So… we are stuck here?" Sayo broke the silence.

"Really? How on earth did you get that conclusion?" Isabela said sarcastically. "We are not going anywhere until we find the book."

"Great." Damien backfired with more sarcasm, rubbing his eyes. "Oh, yes Castillon, we will steal Qunari's most sacred book for you." He imitated Isabela's voice. "It doesn't matter I lost the ship and most of my crew, I just want to give him that big book so later he will give me his big thanks."

"If you don't shut up, I'll gut you, I swear!" They never saw Isabela so furious before.

After another moment of silence, Damien got up. "I'll rent us a room." He said as he walked towards the counter, feeling light-headed from liquor and exhaustion.

Next morning Isabela woke them up. She wanted to search the beach and what's left of The Siren's Call. When they reached the Wounded Coast cliffside , their gaze ended on a sad wreck of once prideful carrack. It was hard to see it in pieces. This ship was their home for over three years. However, Damien took that number and multiplied it, reckoning how bad Isabela felt about it. That ship was her life for who knows how many years. They were standing at the cliff edge in silence, looking at their lost home.

"Browncake, you and I will search the beach. Damie, you go to her and see if there's anything useful left." Isabela said, turning her gaze from the ship.

Sayo and Isabela searched all over the beach, every cave and cove for anything. After who knows how long they finally gave up, finding only wreck and corpses. They sat on the sandy beach and waited for Damien to come back from The Siren's Call. They saw him swimming back to the shore.

"Anything?" Isabela asked, handing him his coat, belt and daggers.

"Nothing." He answered as he tried to catch a breath. "Not a damn thing. No crates, only bloated corpses, but none of them had a book."

"Balls!" She cursed, and started pacing around.

"But I did find your bandana." Damien winked, pulling a blue bandana from his pocket. Isabela's eyes sparkled with joy. "How was your search?"

"Same." Sayo said making a sad face.

Return to the Hanged Man went without a single uttered word. It was a tragic end of a beautiful relationship and nobody wanted to break the silence. Such void in their hearts could be filled only with liquor, so they reached the tavern and sat by the heavy counter.

"What's the word on the streets, Corff?" Isabela asked the blonde, unattractive bartender.

"Oh, mayor news just came today! A _Qunari_ ship wracked on the Wounded Coast, and now they're stuck here. Can you believe?."

They couldn't believe. The ale stopped halfway in their throat.

 _"_ _This is bad! Really, really bad!"_ Sayo felt the panic raising in his chest.

"Apparently, they're waiting for another ship to pick them up."

"And where are they now?" Isabela asked.

"Viscount gave them a place at the docks." Corff leaned across the counter and whispered. "I hope they won't stay for too long. Those ox-men are creeping me out."

"Shit…" Isabela said to her chin and took another sip of her ale.

Sayo and Damien sat by the table close to the counter, while Isabela stared at the bottom of mug, deep in her thoughts. It didn't take long for someone to eye her. A foul-smelling longshoreman approached her, placed his hand low on her back. He opened his mouth to say something, but never got the chance. Isabela grabbed his wrist, twisting his arm behind him. Damien and Sayo jumped up from their chairs, ready to act if their Captain needed help.

Isabela rammed her elbow on back of his neck, slamming his face into the wooden bar-top. They could hear his nose cracking.

"Touch me again and I'll break more than your trunk." She hissed in his ear. She started snapping the fingers on his offending hand. The sound of crunch, sickening pops and a howl of pain filled the tavern. The man walked away, cradling his hand and spitting curses. Isabela had a satisfied smirk on her face.

Just as Damien and Sayo were about to relax again, sitting back on their chairs, another man approached their Captain. He smirked, with an expression that looked more like a grimace than a smile.

"I'm Lucky." He said, leaning his elbow on the counter.

"Is that a name or a description?" She asked, not even looking at him.

"Both. And if you're new in Kirkwall, you'll want to talk to me. My boys and I know everything going on in this town."

"You know," Isabela said, coldly. "I once knew a dog named Lucky. Obnoxious little thing, and too stupid to know when he was two yaps away from a kick in the side."

Damien and Sayo laughed, as Lucky turned red and glanced at some man behind him, probably his mates. They cheered and laughed together with Isabela's boys, offering no support whatsoever. Lucky was about to back out.

"Wait." Isabela said, suddenly. "If you know everything going on in Kirkwall, maybe we should talk."

 _"_ _What is she up to now?"_ Sayo thought anxiously.

She turned to Lucky looking at him with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"You see," She said, smiling for the first time after they got here. "I lost something in a shipwreck, and it would be most fortunate if somebody... capable found where it is."

Days passed. The only exciting things were constant brawls triggered by Damien and Isabela. They tried their best to gather any information about the "relic" and Qunari, and find out if anyone from the crew survived.

One day, their old _friend_ made a contact with Isabela. It was a man named Hayder, and he informed her that Castillon knows what happened. Castillon's wish was either a relic, or Isabela's head. Of course, Isabela couldn't approve of such a deal so she challenged Hayder in a duel.

It was either a victory or loss – if she wins, his men will leave her alone. But all three of them knew Hayder was a sneaky son of a bitch. They tried to come up with a plan, just in case.

The day of a duel came. Contrary to Sayo's and Damien's opinion, Isabela wasn't nervous. She joined them in drinking, cracking jokes and playing cards most of the day, until Lucky showed up.

She got up, walked to the counter and led him away to have a private conversation, while Sayo and Damien continued their party of Wicked Grace. With the banter of tavern patrons and clanging of ale mugs, they couldn't overhear their conversation.

Of course, they've returned and Isabela looked completely disappointed.

"You own us, Isabela!" He said leaning his elbow on the counter, dangerously close to her.

"Well, Lucky, I'll tell you what," she said coldly, pouring whiskey in the mug. "Since the information you gave me was worth nothing..." She tipped the whiskey with a big sip. "That's what I'll pay you."

Lucky pushed himself from the counter, glaring at his two mates closing behind Isabela.

Just as Captain was about to take another sip, Lucky placed his hand on top of the mug slamming it hard onto the counter.

"Me and my boys will get our money's worth, bitch!" He said angrily.

Isabela looked at him for the first time since he got here. She leaned close to his face, faking she feels sorry for him. "Oh, you poor, sweet thing."

It was enough to drop the defence of a young lad. She tugged his arm, pulling him to the counter with a lightning speed, slamming his forehead on a bar top. Something cracked loudly, and Lucky fell down, squirming as he held his head. Damien could see the blood pouring from his nose, through his fingers. A blonde guy hugged Isabela from behind, lifting her up. She tilted her head back, breaking his nose like an overly ripe melon. At the same time, other guy took a bottle of rum from Damien's and Sayo's table.

"Hey!" Damien said with an amused giggle.

The man ran towards Isabela ready to bash the bottle on her head, but she crouched, and the bottle smashed on the head of a blonde guy behind her, who didn't expect a bottle, concentrating on the pain and blood coming from his broken nose. She quickly stood up, landing punch after punch until the "bottle-man" toppled like a felled oak. Lucky finally stood up, reaching his sword, but never got the chance to unsheathe it. Isabela placed the needle-sharp tip of the dagger on his neck, her other hand gripping the dagger on her back, ready to strike. Lucky froze.

"Tell me, Lucky, is this worth dying for?"

Lucky slowly moved pass Isabela. He and his thugs ran out.

"I didn't think so." She chuckled, watching them as they ran out from the tavern.

"Nice one!" Damien said, still laughing out loud.

"You could have helped, lazy arses." She walked to their table.

"And ruin your fun?" Sayo chuckled.

Isabela and Damien laughed toasting to yet another brawl.

"Well, well look what the cat brought in." She said when she saw two women walking to the bar.

"What?" Sayo followed her gaze.

"I have an idea." She smirked mischievously.

As she walked seductively swinging her hips towards two women, Damien and Sayo looked at each other confused and decided to follow their Captain.

"You're new around here, aren't you?" Isabela asked two women.

One had a dark messy hair, seemingly with a mind of its own, falling around her face and into her eyes; pale skin and mischievous blue eyes glaring at Isabela with amusement. Isabela couldn't escape noticing dagger handles behind her shoulders.

The other one had a long black hair falling to her shoulders, and brown eyes filled with anxiety as she was watching them approach.

"Welcome!" Isabela said, like she owned the place. "And keep your wits about you. You are nothing but tits and arse to the man in this place, and they won't hesitate to grab both."

"Oy! Not all man!" Damien joked, making Sayo giggle.

"Speaking from experience, are we?" Woman with blue eyes said, eyeing Isabela from head to toe.

Isabela laughed. "After a few broken fingers here and there, they got the idea. I'm Isabela." She said jokingly bowing like a noble. "Previously Captain Isabela. Sadly, without my ship the title rings a bit hollow."

Damien and Sayo continued with their giggle.

"Aww, don't say that. You will always be our Captain, with or without a ship." Damien said, leaning his elbow on her shoulder.

"Thank you, sweet thing. And this is what's left of my crew. This charmer over here is Damien," Damien bowed the same way Isabela did. "And this is our beloved Sayo." She smiled, her gaze fixed at the woman in front of her. Sayo waved to them in greeting.

"I'm Marian Hawke. This is my sister Bethany."

"Please to meet you." Bethany said still standing behind her sister.

"You're Fereldan, aren't you? You have that look about you. We were in Denerim not too long ago." Isabela continued, waving Corff to give them something to drink. "We even met the Hero of Ferelden."

"What is she doing?" Sayo leaned closer to Damien.

"Honestly, I think she will ask them to help us with Hayder."

"You know; you might be just what I'm looking for to solve a little problem I have."

"See?" Damien said proudly.

"Can't anyone fix their own lives around here?" Hawke joked.

"Must be something in the water." Damien replied, making everyone laugh.

"Someone from my past has been pestering me. I've arranged for a duel – If I win, he leaves me alone. But I don't trust him to play fair. I need someone to watch my back."

"What about your bodyguards?" Hawke pointed to Sayo and Damien.

"They are coming too, of course. But I'll need another pair of eyes watching my back, just in case."

"I think I could manage watching your back." Hawke said.

"I'll bet." Isabela chuckled, Sayo and Damien snored to suppress laughter. "I've arranged to meet Hayder in Hightown after dark. I'll meet you there." She said, seductively walking past Hawke. Damien and Sayo followed her out.

"I call dibs!" Isabela said enthusiastically, when they closed the door behind them.

"What?" Sayo said confused.

"I call dibs! On blue eyed one." She turned her gaze to Damien, pointing her finger on him. "Don't you dare touch her."

"I wasn't planning to." Damien replied chuckling at Captains joke.

"Good."

They walked their way through Lowtown. The sun has almost set, it was getting darker, and people of Kirkwall locked themselves in their houses. It is a dangerous city to live in, if one doesn't know how to fight their way through horde of thugs lurking the streets at night.

"Do we really need help? Three of us could easily deal with that bastard." Damien asked, as they entered Hightown.

"I just want to be sure. Hayder could've brought whole Armada here. And like I said, more daggers can come in handy."

Square below Viscount Keep greeted them with cold, stony demeanour. It was a silent, pristine place and none could presume its streets were as dangerous as Lowtown during nights. Thus, Isabela eyed dark corners of the square.

"Damie, climb up and scout around." She gave order.

"Aye, aye, Captain." Damien jokingly said. He ran to pile of crates, jumping on them and quickly climbed up to the rooftops.

"I'll never understand how he does that." She said, watching him climbing.

"I know him for more than twenty years, and I still don't understand." Sayo chuckled.

The sun had set and finally, Kirkwall was covered in shadows. The moonlight dimly brightened the streets. Sayo was sitting on the stairs, playfully swinging a throwing knife between his fingers, while Isabela nervously paced around, cursing to her chin from time to time. Damien was still scouting around; Sayo could see him a few times as he jumped from roof to roof. Finally, they saw Hawke sisters approaching them, with yet another familiar face following them.

"There you are!" Isabela sounded frustrated. "We've been here for hours. Hayder hasn't shown up. No one has. I don't like this."

"'I don't like this?' That's like right up with, 'What could possibly go wrong?'" A dwarf, named Varric stepped in front, jokingly smirking as he did. They met him few days ago in The Hanged Man, drinking and playing cards. He put a fun in the dwarf.

"I'll put my gold on 'Everything'." Sayo walked up to them, greeting the dwarf with a polite curtsey.

"Hey, Browncake."

Suddenly Damien jumped down, skilfully landing and rolling over the shoulder to ease the fall.

"You will love this, Bela. We are surrounded!" He said happily.

"Spider!" Varric greeted him.

"Varric? How did you tag along?" Damien teased.

"Any sign of Hayder?" Isabela was losing patience.

"Nope." Damien let out a sigh.

"There's the wench we are looking for! Gut her!" Someone yelled from dark alley.

In a second, square was filled with charging raiders. The group didn't hesitate; they unsheathed their weapons and countered the attack. Damien rushed towards a group of masked archers. He threw a knife at the slit above the rag on his face, and the blade landed right between thug's eyes. He evaded arrows, running like a shadow, slitting their throats like a bladed hurricane of death, sprinkling the air with the bloody rain.

Sayo tried to flank a brute with the huge maul. His armour had no visible openings – dragonbone plate held tight, and he panicked, thinking on his feet as he evaded slow, deadly attacks. But then he saw it – at the moment when a man raised his hammer, a slight crack on his stomach appeared, large enough to push the dagger in.

It was a calculated move – if he's late just a second, brute will crush him into a bloody pulp. He waited until the man raised his hammer, rushed forward, made a roll and pushed the dagger right between the crack. Man gasped, and the pain produced by the dagger piercing his gall almost made him throw the hammer down. From here on, it was only a matter of evading attacks until he bleeds out – Sayo hit an artery leading to the stomach. Man tried hitting him, but the attacks became slower and slower until he, finally, toppled down, making a small quake as his huge armour hit the ground.

After almost ten minutes, fight was finally over. They all were covered in blood, except Varric and Bethany. No one was hurt too bad, Damien got a cut on his arm, Hawke's lip was split and Isabela was holding her midsection groaning in pain.

"Hayder sent them. Search the bodies!" She ordered. "I need to find out where he is!"

They started looting the corpses for any clue of Hayder, also taking coins along the way. After few moments of searching dozens of bodies, Hawke found a letter on one of the ambushers. Isabela read the letter and smirked.

"Hiding in the Chantry and sending thugs to finish me off? Coward." She tossed the letter behind her. "He'll not get away with this. Come on."

They started running toward the chantry. Hayder's raiders did not make it easier; they ambushed them all the way up the decorated stairs. As soon as they got there, Damien started climbing the building. Hawke sisters and Varric watched him with amazed looks. Sayo found that funny, he and Isabela got used to it but it was fun to see how others react on Damie's climbing skill.

The Chantry was, by all means, huge. Damien remembered the some chantries in Feralden – a small shack compared to this majestic building. In Ferelden, he would sometimes see a scurrying rat, but here the floor was so pristine, he could see his own reflection. The large, golden statues rose above their heads, a scent of lavender and incense filled the air with the burning fires on the walls lightning the path towards the large altar.

They were so immersed in the beauty of the Chantry that they didn't notice a man stepping out from the shadow. He held himself with arrogance, wearing a tight leather armour, with a long flowing cloak and a hood covering his face. When he swiftly moved the hood from his face, they realized it was Hayder.

"Isabela. Should've known you'd find me here." He said, with a cocky voice.

"Tell your men to burn the letters next time." She smirked.

Sayo noticed Damien high up on one of the balconies, as he climbed up on the stone fence. Suddenly, a dozen men stepped from the shadows – all thugs, wearing tight leather armours and scarves around their mouths. Their eyes showed no emotion – no fear, no joy, nothing. Sayo knew a trained killer when he saw one – these man had no remorse. Against such enemies, mercy won't do. Thus, he squeezed his daggers, ready to jump on any of them.

"Castillon was heartbroken when he heard about the shipwreck. You could've let him know you survived." Hayder said with disgusting smirk that revealed his crooked, yellow teeth.

"Oh, it must have slipped my mind." Isabela replied cynically.

Hayder chuckled. "Where's the relic?"

"I lost it. Castillon's just going to have to do without."

"Lost it? Just like you _lost_ a ship full of valuable cargo?" Hayder looked angry now.

"They weren't cargo, Hayder, they were people!" Isabela yelled at him.

Sayo noticed Hawke is looking at him with a suspicious glare.

"We'll tell you later." He whispered, avoiding her piercing blue eyes.

"Those slaves were worth a hundred sovereigns a head, and you let them scurry off into the wilds." Hayder hissed. "And now the relic's gone, too. Castillon won't be happy to hear that, I promise you."

"Castillon isn't a very happy person, is he? Maybe he needs a new hobby." Hawke said sarcastically making all of them giggle.

"There is only one way to settle this." Isabela smirked. In a flash she reached the dagger on her back, and threw it on one of the Hayder's thugs. Damien dropped from the balcony on the two thugs behind Hayder, thrusting his daggers into back of their heads. And again, the fight broke out.

Flesh and meat was as uniform as their cold faces. Damien could see the moment where their eyes panicked just for a second before he professionally cut their throats, ending their lives. He counted the moment of desperation at last twenty times before the sudden wave of heat almost threw him from his feet. It was the first time he'd heard a scream – three men ran around frantically and their screams chilled to the bone, as their bodies burned alive. He turned around and noticed those living torches were the last of the bunch.

Among them, Damien saw Hayder's bucked, yellow teeth as he screamed, trying to put the fire burning his rugged cloak, even while his body burned – completely.

Only a few seconds; it took only that much before they fell down and stopped screaming, turning to a charred corpse.

"Next time, can you _please_ be more careful with those fireballs?" he joked, walking to the corpse whose glassy eyes stared at the ceiling. He tugged on man's purse and swiftly cut the rope holding it to his belt.

"Don't worry, I won't set you ablaze. Yet." Bethany chuckled. Damien imitated a panicked thug, waving his arms. Bethany and Sayo laughed.

Hawke and Isabela talked privately; they could not hear their conversation. After the looting was done, Isabela showed that they're leaving.

"Anyway, thanks for helping me with Hayder." Isabela said, stepping on Hayder's head as she seductively approached Hawke. "And I have a room at the Hanged Man, if you're looking for a... company later."

Damien, Sayo and Varric giggled and waved their heads in disbelief.

"Hey! We share the room, remember?" Sayo joked.

"Like I care." Isabela gave Hawke a wink and walked her way out, with her boys following her. Sayo and Damien waved to sisters and Varric.


	11. New Friendship

The bloody affair with Hayder finally ended. Group gathered in the Hanged Man, accompanied by Hawke and her friends. There was Varric, along with two elves Fenris and Merril, a guard captain Aveline who came to Kirkwall with Hawke and her family and a mysterious ex Warden mage.

„ _You know… he's gay."_ Merrill whispered to Sayo's ear, as if it's a tremendous honour. Not minding Sayo's confused face since she was a complete stranger, she continued: " _Varric told me gay people rub on each other to be happy! I wish I was gay!"_

Sayo tried hard to supress his laughter.

Apparently, Hawke came to Kirkwall with her mother and Bethany as a Blight refugee. Their brother, Carver, died in a Darkspawn attack. She worked as a smuggler for a whole year to earn enough gold for admittance into town, and now she has to earn twice that much to afford Varric's Deep Roads expedition. The only problem is her uncle Gamlen. Man frequently stole her gold so he could spend them in Blooming Rose: a brothel in Hightown, or lose it in a gamble.

Kirkwall is a Kirkwall. There are three things you can do here – grab a whore, drink a booze or become a criminal. Hawke was a bit of exception, but Isabela and her boys liked spending their time in the tavern, drinking and playing cards.

"I'm so BORED of this!" Isabela yelled, tilting her head back and stretching on the chair, effectively doubling the size of her breasts. "Let's do something fun!"

"Any ideas?" Sayo said, not raising his eyes from the winning gold.

"We can go to Hawke's house. I hear there's always a show with her Uncle and mother fighting, all day long." Damien joked. "We could get Beth out of the house, at least."

"Where is Hawke, anyway? I haven't seen her all day."

Isabela made a disgusted face.

"She's helping _Big Girl_ with something. Varric and Fenris went with them. Still, wish I could go… everything is better than this boredom." Isabela moaned. Aveline and Isabela couldn't stand each other, so Hawke tried her best to keep them apart as much as possible.

Isabela and Aveline, thus, avoided each other, but lately this was hard to do since Aveline is a captain of the guard and Isabela a troublemaker. There was this one time when Damien an Isabela engaged in a brawl which spread all over the Lowtown with more than thirty people involved. The moment when Aveline appeared one could see her face going red from rage. She shrieked like a harpy, had them arrested, certain they've caused it. After she found out they just had their share of fun and didn't actually cause this massive fight she let them go, threatening them she'll keep an eye on both.

After few minutes Hawke, Varric and Fenris entered the Hanged Man, walking towards Isabela's table. Hawke approached them, raising her hand in a greeting.

"Anything interesting happened while I was away?"

"Nothing much. We already drank most of the ale, Browncake cheated his way to winning some coins, and Damie slept with Bethany." Isabela smirked.

Palpable awkwardness permeated the room. Vein on Hawke's forehead popped out, and her lips tightened.

Damien's eyes widened in confusion. "What?"

"You dog!" Hawke exclaimed, jumping over the table, slamming her fist right past Damien's confused face. Damien skilfully evaded her punch, running around the tavern, away from the raging Hawke.

"Hawke! No! She's joking!" he yelled in self-defence.

"You thieving, horny, filthy dog! I'll gut you alive!" Hawke wasn't even listening to him, chasing him around the tables, jumping over chairs and drunken patrons.

"You didn't have to go this far." Sayo said to his captain, laughing at the current scene.

Isabela shrugged. "I was bored." She winked at Varric and Fenris, who were barely breathing, laughing out loud.

Thankfully, Bethany walked in, followed by Merrill.

"Oh, a fight." Merrill exclaimed. Damien noticed Bethany and ran behind her, jumping over the table. He used her as a human shield, and Hawke finally stopped.

"What's going on?" Bethany asked, confused at her raging sister.

Damien ushered, pointing his finger at Hawke over Bethany's shoulder. "Tell her we didn't have sex!"

"What?!" she asked, shocked, with a high-pitched voice.

"Tell her before she kills me!"

"Sister!" This situation obviously insulted her.

Merill, standing beside Bethany, looked absolutely thrilled. "Oh, you two are so cute together!"

"You're not helping, Kitten!" Damien joked. Bethany blushed looking at Damien and turned to her sister, saying: "Even if I did, that's not your problem, Sis!"

Damien let out a moan full of despair. "That's not helping either!" he started to panic.

Bethany saw panic in his eyes and a burning rage in her sister's face. "No, we didn't do… it." she blushed a bit more, walking past her sister towards the table where Isabela, Sayo, Varric and Fenris still knocked their asses from the laughter. Damien stopped hiding behind Bethany's back when they reached the table, taking his seat next to Sayo.

Hawke still fumed, staring at Damien's face.

"I'll kill you." She muttered.

"Don't worry, Hawke. Damie has a girlfriend. He's not interested in Bethany." Sayo giggled.

"Whatever." Hawke trashed her arms.

Varric whistled like a hound: „Who's a lucky lady?"

"I don't have a girlfriend!" he looked at Sayo with a killing glare. "She's not my girlfriend!"

Evening came, so everyone sat around the table, ready for yet another evening of jokes, tease and drinks. It seemed as if today was Damien's turn to be picked on. Everyone turned their attention to a brown haired Fereldan.

"Oh, please!" Isabela smiled at him, with a mischievous glare. "You should've seen when he saw her in The Pearl! He jumped on her like a puppy, about to hump her leg." She continued. Damien blushed, but everybody else laughed.

"I didn't hump her, I just kissed her!" Damien felt a knot in his stomach which sent the blood in his cheeks and made his head felt dizzy as he recalled that day.

"Isn't The Pearl a brothel in Denerim?" Varric asked.

"Yes, it is!" Sayo replied, eagerly waiting others comments.

"You met your girlfriend… in a brothel?" Hawke asked and chuckled, her rage already a past.

Damien blushed, clenching his fists.  
"No, we've met before! And she's not my girlfriend!"

Sayo knew his friend, but even he couldn't tell whether the colour of his cheeks was from anger or an embarrassment.

"But wait! It gets better!" Isabela leaned on the table, with a serious expression in her hazel eyes. Everyone looked at her, ready to hear the story. She cleared out her throat and said: „Then, he went to save her like a brave prince he is, and killed her boss or whatever she was."

"Please, stop talking!" Damien desperately cried.

"And then… oh, this is the best part… then he went to meet her in the tavern! If you know what I mean." She winked.

A large gasp of excitement and positive shock ringed around the table. Damien felt Merrill's big, innocent eyes glued on his face. She looked at him with an amazed expression, holding her cheeks to hide blushing.

"Just how do you know what we were doing?" Damien smirked at Isabela.

Isabela groaned. "You entered The Pearl next morning with a silly smile on your face, and her flowery, girly smell all over you."

"Good point." Damien laughed together with everyone.

"I'm actually hurt. Leliana didn't even come to say goodbye." Sayo faked disappointment.

"Leliana?" Suddenly Bethany straightened on her chair.

"Right! That's her name!" Isabela obviously only remembered her name now.

"Leliana? As in lay sister Leliana?" Bethany looked at Damien.

"You know her?" Damien asked, feeling a cramp in his stomach.

"She... was a sister in the Lothering chantry. We were friends. I often went there to listen to her stories."

"Alright! Changing the subject!" Damien yelled. He didn't want to talk about Leliana, even more so now when he knew Bethany was her friend.

"Do you know any pirate songs?" suddenly Merrill asked, leaving them stunned.

" _Sweet Kitten. Changing subject like a boss."_ Damien chuckled, looking at Merrill and when she noticed, she smiled with closed eyes.

"Yes, we do!" he said, raising his mug towards Sayo and Isabela, starting to sing his favourite pirate song, rhythmically smacking his mug against the table, singing some old pirate song.

Isabela and Sayo joined in with singing, while others joined in with rhythmical mug smacking.

They finished their song with a cheer and knocking of mugs. For the rest of the evening they played cards. Varric taught Merril how to cheat, until Isabela taunted him into drinking competition, aligning forty shots of whiskey. The rest of the squad enjoyed jokes and ale, watching their duel. After a few hours, a grumpy elf Fenris got up, saying good night to everyone. By that time, Isabela was already dead drunk, talking gibberish (if you could even call that talking), Varric passed out under the table, snoring so loud he made a table vibrate.

"You…" Isabela leaned too close to Sayo, staring into his silver, large eyes. "You have such… beautiful eyes." She said these words with a hiccup pause; leaning so close into his face he could only see the milky irises of her drunker, amber eyes.

"If you say so… _"_ Sayo muttered, confused, pushing her away a little bit. She was a bit creepy, to be honest.

"I just want to pluck them out and…wear them as a necklace." She giggled, staring at his silver eyes with a childish expression. Those who were still sober burst into a fit of laughter. Merrill raised her scarf, checking a small wooden necklace around her neck with a small 'ooh'.

"Yeah… sure. I think you're ready to – OUCH!" he yelled, because Isabela poked her finger in his eye.

" _Delltash_!" Sayo cursed rubbing his sore eye. "Why did you do that?"

"I… I just wanted to touch them." She said innocently.

"You can't bloody touch people eyes, Bela!"

"Can I touch your boobs?" She jumped stretching her hand towards Sayo's chests.

"No!" he started to slap her hands, desperately calling Damien out for help. Damien held his midsection in laughter.

"Damien, help!" Sayo pleaded.

Damien wiped his tears and walked to his drunken Captain. "Come on, my Queen. You had enough." He said, taking her into his arms. Isabela just purred like a cat. She hugged him around the neck and tucked her head on his shoulder like it's the most comfortable place in the world. He carried her back into their room.

Sayo still rubbed his eye, feeling rather traumatized.

"Why did she tried to grab your boobs? You don't have boobs?" Hawke suddenly asked. The question stunned Sayo, and he had no idea how to explain.

"Of course she has!" Merrill said confused.

"She?" Bethany and Hawke asked at the same time, looking at Sayo with eyes wide open.

"Sayo is a girl. I thought it was obvious." Merrill said, as if this fact was something everybody else knows. Sayo looked at Merrill, with his blushing cheeks.

"It's… complicated." Sayo felt his cheeks starting to blush. "I pretend I'm a man, alright? Just leave it at that, please!"

Hawke raised her arm:"But…"

"Please!" Sayo didn't want to explain the reason he pretended to be an opposite gender – it was hard enough when he explained it to his Captain. He was too drunk and too tired for it.

Damien finally came back, and Sayo let a sigh of relief. Merril smiled, saying: „You care about her a lot." Looking at the room where he carried drunken Isabela.

Merrill always said things out of blue and it made her even more cute.

"Of course we do, she's our Captain." Damien said, reaching for Isabela's mug, hoping there's more ale in it.

"It's so nice to have someone caring, someone like you." She said crooking a sad smile, contemplating her feet.

"We care about you too, Kitten." Damien said gently. "If you want I can carry you home." He joked.

Merrill blushed a little. "No, no. I'm not that drunk. But I do feel dizzy. And I usually get lost. But I don't want to bother you or anything... I'll just stop talking now."

Everyone chuckled at the little elf. They finished their drinks, discussing an expedition to the Deep Roads. With Bethany's and Merril's help Hawke managed to stand up. All that alcohol made her legs feel insecure and wobbly. They've left, waving goodbye, leaving Sayo and Damien alone.

Back in their room, Isabela still slept face down, sprawled across the bed. Sayo and Damien dropped on their respective beds, eager to get their drunken sleep. Damien started to snore few moments after his head touched the pillow.

Suddenly Sayo realized something, and jumped right up on sitting position.

 _"_ _We left Varric under the table!"_

* * *

"We really need to do something about your sleeping problems. Your sleep talking and trashing in bed is affecting my beauty sleep." Isabela complained, as they were walking out from the Hanged Man, taking their way to Hawke's house. Well, her uncle's house.

"Well I'm sorry I can't control myself while I'm asleep." Damien groaned frustrated. It's annoying to listen to them every freaking day, complaining about his sleeping outbursts.

"Can't Browncake make you some potion or tonic or whatever?" Isabela looked at him with concerned stare.

"I have booze, that's all I need." He joked, patting her shoulder.

Isabela chuckled and shook her head. They reached the door of Gamlen's house. She knocked the door. Their heard steps approaching the door, and in their disappointment, the person who opened the door was none other than old, grumpy uncle Gamlen.

"YOU!" He screamed, making hilarious grimace when he saw Damien's face.

"Hello, Uncley Duncley!" He jokingly greeted the man. "I thought you're still in the Blooming Rose."

"Keep your voice down!" He whispered looking over his shoulder to make sure no one heard Damien's words.

"We need to see Hawke." Isabela slammed the door open, pushing Gamlen away.

"Hey!" Gamlen looked rather angry now. "Get out of my house! How dare you come here after stealing my coins?!"

"What are you talking about? I won the coins in poker. And those are not your coins, Uncley." Damien purposely teased the old man, mostly to see all the shades of red his face can go through.

"Damie? Isabela? What are you doing here?" Bethany walked inside the house, following her mother, Leandra. It looked like they were shopping for groceries, carrying bags full of fruit and vegetables.

Her mother wasn't pleased with their presence in her living space. She was probably thinking the pirates are bad influence for Bethany. Marian was beyond saving years ago.

"Hey, Beth! Need some help with that?" Damien smiled at her reaching for heavy looking bags.

"No! We don't!" Her mother jumped between them, glaring at Isabela and Damien like they're about to steal her youngest child.

Damien pulled back, raising his hands in defence. Isabela giggled silently behind his back.

"Where's Hawke?" She asked Bethany, deliberately ignoring her mother's stares.

"She's still sleeping, I think. Why?"

Bethany looked like she's fighting the inner battle with herself at the moment, to either please her mother or to get them out of the house before they do something stupid or to just let them be, in spite of her uncle and mother.

"Excellent!" Damien said with mischievous grin, walking towards the only closed door.

"You can't just enter into woman's bedroom!" Leandra exclaimed.

Damien looked at her making a stupid, confused face. His eyes were jumping from door to mother Hawke, and back. He carefully reached the doorknob and pressed it, the door slowly opened with a silent creaking. He gasped, turned his face to the people in the room, faking astonished face, his mouth wide opened.

"How in the Maker's name did I do that?" He said sarcastically, making Bethany and Isabela laugh out loud.

He entered the room, followed by Bethany and Isabela. Hawke was lying on her back, sprawled across the lowest bunk, wearing only her underwear, her mouth slightly opened, and a blanket covering only one of her legs. Isabela and Damien tilted their head, trying to take a better look at woman's perfect features. Bethany noticed and felt uncomfortable.

"I-I'll wake her up!" Bethany took a step towards her unconscious sister, when a hand on her shoulder stopped her and pulled her back.

"No, no, no. We do this fun way." Damien whispered, and slowly started closing the door, glaring at uncle and mother making evil laugh.

"What are you doing?" Bethany slapped his arm. "What will they think we're doing in here?"

"Orgies?" Isabela said, her eyes still fixed on Hawke. Damien tried his best not to laugh out loud.

"What...No... That's just wrong!" Bethany blushed, but couldn't help herself not to laugh.

"Alright. Let's wake her up." Isabela rubbed her hands and slowly walked towards Hawke.

Damien silently went towards the cupboard and started to open drawers, in search for something interesting (underwear to be more precise). Bethany kept looking at Isabela in anticipation. Isabela slowly laid down beside Hawke, throwing one leg across hers, and caressed her cheek. Hawke moaned sleepily and as she started to wake up, Isabela leaned to her ear.

"Good morning, sweet thing." She whispered seductively. Hawke opened her eyes slowly.

"What the…!" She jumped up in her bunk and smacked her head on the bunk above with a sickening crunch. "OW!" She screamed in pain, her hand covering the bump forming on her skull.

Isabela and Damien burst into fits of laughter.

"Marian!" Bethany laughed as well, but still showed concern and ran towards her traumatized sister.

"What in Andraste's name are you doing here?" Hawke asked, annoyed.

Isabela scowled. „Well, good morning to you too." She rolled over Hawke and got up. "We need to tell you something."

"We?" Hawke raised her head from her hands, looking around the room. Her eyes found Damien, who was absorbed into digging through the drawers.

"Morning, sleepyhead." He waved. "A-ha! Gold mine!" Finally, he found a drawer with the underwear.

It seems only now Bethany noticed what he was doing all this time. She jumped, panicked and slam shut the drawer, wrestling the bras and panties from his hands.

"Killjoy." He chuckled, seeing her blushed face.

"Can you act like an adult, for once?" She hissed, frustrated.

"Why are you here?" Hawke tried to get their attention.

"We talked last night when you left, and I told Sayo and Bela about our little chat few nights ago. About Deep Roads." Damien leaned on cupboard, folding his hands on the chest.

"You told me you need fifteen more sovereigns, if I recall." He reached to his pocket and pulled out a purse. "I went to Blooming Rose, hoping to find your uncle there. And I did, so I teased him a little, he got pissed off and challenged me to play poker with him. I cheated and won your coins back." He smiled complacently throwing five gold coins to Hawke.

"Then, Sayo and I went on 'Thug hunt' at the docks, killed a few dozens, took their coins and reported to Big Girl. She paid us for our good service. And there you go." He tossed the purse to Hawke. "This is yours. But you will pay us back! With interest!"

She looked at the coins inside the purse and counted them.

"This is...I don't know what to say." She blurted out sheepishly, and it made Damien smile a little. He noticed his usually heartless Captain also had a gentle smile seeing how they left Hawke speechless.

 _"_ _So it's possible to leave her speechless?"_ Damien thought, smiling to himself.

"I...Thank you." She gave both of them grateful smile. "Can you get out now so I can get dressed?"

Bethany pushed them out of the room.

"Oh, and by the way," Isabela poked her head back into the room, taking one last swift glance at Hawke's semi – nakedness. "By paying back, he means sex." She winked and closed the door.

Bethany ran to her mother telling her the news. Isabela and Damien walked their way out, but just when they were about to reach the door, Damien felt strong grip on his arm. Gamlen looked furious.

"Don't you ever come into my house, you pirate filth!" He hissed tough his yellow teeth. In a flash Damien ripped his arm from the grip and shoved Gamlen onto the wall.

"Damien!" Bethany yelled in shock. He felt her hands on his arm that was holding her uncle pressed against the wall.

"Yes, I am a pirate filth; I will never deny it." He said calmly. "But unlike you, I have some dignity and would never steal hard earned coins from my family to spend them on whores."

"Gamlen..." He heard Leandra gasped on his words.

Damien trusted him onto the wall one more time, breaking his lip before lowering his hand. "Worthless piece of shit." He said to his chin. He looked at Bethany and her mother. They both were stunned by the scene. He jokingly bowed. "My apologies, ladies. See ya, Beth."

He walked out, where Isabela waited for him.

"Was that really necessary?" She smirked.

"I have anger issues, remember?"

They both laughed and walked their way to Hanged Man, eager to say the news to their dear beardless dwarf.


	12. While They're Gone

"So… that's it? You really aren't going?" Sayo asked his Captain, walking side by side with his tipsy friend Damien towards the Hightown, to say their goodbyes to Hawke and the rest of the crew.

"No! I told you already, I don't feel comfortable in tight spaces!" Isabela groaned, looking rather uncomfortable about saying a word 'fear."

"Well, that's new. I thought you love to slide yourself in tight, humid places from time to time." Damien joked, making Sayo and Isabela laugh.

"Well if it's wet, I can't say no!"

They laughed out loud when they reached the meeting place. Everybody else was there already: Varric and Hawke argued over something with Varric's grumpy brother Bartrand, Bethany stood few feet aside, along with Merrill, Aveline and Fenris.

"Ahoy, maties!" Damien growled, saluting Bethany and others.

"He's drunk, don't mind him." Sayo joked.

"Oi, i'm not drunk, I can still stand, can't you see?" Everyone laughed, even Aveline - a shocker.

"I'll miss your stupid jokes down in Deep Roads." Bethany said, giving Sayo a pat on the shoulder.

"You are going?" Isabela asked, surprised.

"Of course I'm going! I won't leave my sister do the entire job alone!"

They talked and joked for a while. Aveline gave them a disapproving grin few times after they cracked some dirty jokes, which poor Merrill didn't understand. Finally, Anders showed up, looking awkward like always.

"Finally, Blondie! What took you so long?" Varric teased him.

Anders didn't reply. Apparently Hawke made him come along; although he pointed out he'll rather die than go into the Deep roads again. But again, having a Grey Warden with them gives a much bigger chance of survival, especially when they encounter Darkspawn.

Bartrand called everyone to gather. He started giving a big speech.

"All right, you maggots, listen up!" The chatter died out once the dwarf's deep voice echoed. "We've chosen one of the hidden entrances! The Deep Roads are going to be nice and virginal, ready for a good deflowering. HA!"

Damien, Isabela, Sayo and Varric burst out laughing.

"Now there's and interesting image." Varric mumbled to Hawke.

Damien noticed Bethany rolled her eyes on their perverted outburst, while Merrill was looking at them confused, busting her head to figure out what did she miss.

"It will take us a week to get to the depth we need..."

They laughed again, unable to hold back.

"I'm starting to think he is doing this on purpose!" Damien said through his laughing.

"Believe it or not, he isn't." Varric chuckled.

"This is my most favorite speech ever." Isabela cried quietly, just loud enough for her boys, Varric and Hawke to hear.

"Big risks, big rewards!" Bartrand continued.

"That's what she said." Sayo whispered, and everyone broke into titters of laughter once more.

"What could be better?" Hawke said to Bartrand, desperately trying to compose herself, and ignore all those perverted references around her. "Life is boring without a little risk here and there."

"Exactly!" Bartrand exclaimed. "Now before we – What the...Who invited the old woman?"

Everyone turned in shock. Hawke's mother, Leandra, was walking towards them, her face covered in sadness.

"Here comes momma drama." Damien singed quietly to Sayo, feeling the awkwardness rising in the air.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, ser dwarf, but I need to speak with my children." Leandra said.

"Mother!" Bethany said, shocked. "I told you not to get involved in this!"

Bethany and Marian started to argue about whether should Bethany go or not. Everyone was looking at them, feeling awkward.

Isabela let out a sigh, shaking her head. "I'm not drunk enough for this."

"You and I both, Captain." Damien agreed.

Sayo was just standing next to Merrill, giggling at little green-eyed elf, who gasped excitingly at Hawke family drama.

 _"_ _Can she be any cuter?!"_ He thought to himself.

Leandra's sudden cry woke Sayo up from daydreaming. "Bethany, I beg you! Don't go! Don't do this!" Bethany and Hawke walked away from their mother, while the woman stubbornly tried persuading Bethany to stay.

"I'll be fine, Mother. I promise. This will work out for the best, you'll see." Bethany was comforting her crying mother.

Leandra gave her elder daughter a stare full of anger and sadness, and walked away shaking her head in disbelief. Hawke sisters watched as she left them without saying good bye.

"Personal drama over with?" Bartrand showed no sympathy at all. "Then let's get underway!"

Everyone gathered around, wishing Hawke, Bethany, Varric and Anders good luck. Isabela and her boys were last one in the line.

Isabela gave Hawke a quick peck. "You'll get more when you return." She said seductively, giving her a wink and leaving her with a stunned dumb look on her face.

Sayo and Damien whistled and cheered, while Bethany blushed uncomfortably.

"Try not to get yourselves killed, will you?" Damien pat Hawke's shoulder. "You still owe me coins, keep that in mind."

Hawke chuckled, shaking Sayo's hand. "Keep an eye on these two!"

"I always do, Hawke." Sayo smiled.

Bethany was standing behind Hawke, looking proud about finally going out on an adventure with her sister. Damien reached out his hand expecting a handshake, but then Bethany jumped, giving him a tight hug.

"Or a hug. Sure. Yes. Ok." Damien was hit by a shock, which made Sayo giggle a little bit, seeing him so uncomfortable.

Bethany released him. They looked at each other for a few seconds, which made Damien panic.

 _"_ _This is not right!"_ He yelled to himself.

He cleared his throat. "Good luck." He said and quickly backed off, letting Sayo say goodbye to her.

 _"_ _What the hell was that? You can't just jump and hug people around!"_ Damien's thoughts ran wild.

Bethany gave Sayo a hug as well, one that left him stunned. They're just not used to hugs, since they lived their lives as pirates and before that they were freaking Antivan Crows! Who on all the Thedas would even think about giving them warm hugs?

A small band left, leaving others on the square. Sayo felt kind of sad watching them leave. Sure it is only for few weeks but still, he will miss them. And it will be boring without Varric's stories.

"Somehow I have a feeling this will be four most boring weeks in Kirkwall." Damien said, like he just read Sayo's thoughts.

"We'll survive." Isabela shrugged her shoulders. "We still have Hanged Man and Blooming Rose."

They laughed and walked their way to tavern, with Merrill following them.

* * *

Two week of bloody boredom made Damien crazy. He got some insane ideas about making his own informant network, mostly orphans, beggars and whores. The plan was to look for any clues about relic they lost, but mostly he got useless information about qunari activities, dumb noble gossip, and who spends most coins in Blooming Rose.

In Sayo's opinion, if that makes Damien occupied enough and he doesn't do anything stupid, he'll just play along and leave him be. On the other hand, he had his mind occupied with something else. Or _someone._ Merrill came to the Hanged man rather often, drinking with them while they taught her how to cheat in cards and cracked jokes she often wouldn't understand.

One night Isabela and Damien got this amazing idea to show her how to do body shots. For some idiotic reason they made Sayo do it and his drunken mind just couldn't say no. After that night he couldn't stop thinking about Merrill. Although until now she was more like an adorable friend, now after she licked salt from his neck and sucked a lime he held in his mouth, he felt kind of different about her.

The things a bit of lust can do!

Like every other night Sayo, Isabela, Damien and Merrill were sitting in tavern, playing cards and chatting. Sayo felt uncomfortable and so he drank far more then he usually does. After his ninth mug of whiskey and third mug of ale he felt all that liquor kick in, feeling lightheaded.

" _Shit! I still feel like I'll have panic attack!"_ He thought, while glancing to Merrill who was sitting across the table, giggling at Isabela's joke. _"What's wrong with me? Pull yourself together, idiot!"_

"Thedas to Sayo!" Damien's loud calling woke him up. "What's wrong with you? You act strange all night?"

"I'm fine. I'm just...thinking." Sayo replied.

"Thinking? Sure." Damien said with a suspicious stare. "Anyway, can you walk Kitten home?"

"Why me?" Sayo asked confused.

"Why not?"

Sayo was silent for few seconds, trying to find a way to avoid it.

"Fine!" He said and got up. At that moment the liquor truly kicked him hard. He almost lost his footing; everything was spinning around, and his vision rather blurry.

"No, no. It's alright, I will go alone." Merrill exclaimed.

"Don't be silly!" Isabela placed a hand on her shoulder, giving her a gentle smile. "We just don't want you to get lost again."

Sayo started walking towards the door not even looking if Merrill is following. When he got out, he turned around and saw her skipping towards him. They walked in silence for few minutes. It was almost morning, the sun started to send a dim light, colouring the sky in light blue shades. It was chilly outside, which felt great for Sayo and his drunken mind.

"So." Merrill couldn't withstand the awkwardness. "You are drunk, I imagine? I noticed you don't walk like you usually do."

"You know the way I walk?" Sayo asked, surprised.

"Yes!" She said proudly. "But it is not that I always watch you walk, I just noticed. Don't get this the wrong way. I noticed you don't drag your feet so much like you do now. You walk rather proudly most of the time. But I..." She raised her head and she noticed Sayo chuckling. "I'm babbling again. Sorry."

"Oh, by all means! Please continue. I really want to know how beautiful my walk is." He teased, making Merrill blush.

They reached her house. Merrill turned to him giving him a warm innocent smile. Sayo felt a lump forming in his throat.

 _"_ _I wanna kiss her. Wait! What? No I don't! But look at her, she is adorable! Sayo stop it! She is just a friend! But what if we can be more? STOP IT!"_ Sayo's thoughts went berserk. He was staring at her lips not even paying attention to what she was saying.

"Sayo?"

"Huh?" He finally heard her words, after she called him out for third time.

"I think you drank too much. Your cheeks are really red. Are you feeling ok? I have some water in..."

Sayo interrupted her with his lips. It was like the whole world just stopped, her soft, gentle, warm lips magically erased his tipsiness, and now he felt a different sort of lightheaded.

 _"_ _Oh, no! OH, NO! What have I done! Shit!"_ Sayo finally noticed what he just did. _"I'm kissing her!"_

He slowly pulled back. Merrill looked like someone hit her with a paralyzing spell, her big green eyes fixed on Sayo's.

 _"_ _RUN!"_ He said to himself.

"Goodnight!" He said and quickly turned around, rushing back towards the Hanged Man, leaving poor stunned Merrill behind.

* * *

"Let me get this straight. So you kissed Merrill, and just ran like a little bitch, leaving a poor girl paralyzed in front of her house without saying a single word?" Isabela asked while she tried to catch a breath after laughter.

Damien held his face in hands, laughing like a madman. "Oh, Maker! I can picture it in my head!"

It was almost noon; they were in their room, just waking up. They asked him if Merrill got home safe and he just had to tell them, expecting an advice. Instead he got two laughing idiots rolling on their beds.

"Stop laughing! I need help!" Sayo cried out.

"Alright. Sorry." Isabela wiped her tears and straightened up in her bed. "This is what you need to do. Go to her house. When she opens the door, grab her, pin her on the wall, like an animal you are, and take her to a place she's never been before."

Damien and Isabela burst into another fit of laughter.

" _Fenedhis_!" Sayo raged and furiously walked out the room, leaving his friends in their joyful moment.

 _"_ _I'll never hear the end of this."_ He knew they will tease as long as he lives.

After few minutes two of them came out of the room and jointly tortured Sayo at the table. He was deep in his thoughts, still trying to wrap around what happened last night.

"So, lover boy." Damien said, with his mouth full of apple. "Did you come out with any plan about Kitten?"

"No." Sayo sighed.

"It'll be alright, you'll see!" Damien smacked his back. "I'm right behind you."

"I don't need you to be behind me! What do I say to her? That I was drunk, and wasn't myself at the time? It will...I...I don't know!" He was frustrated.

Just at that moment Merrill entered the tavern. She saw them, and skipped her way to their table, with a dreamy smile on her face. Sayo didn't notice her, his eyes fixed on the mug in his hands. Damien and Isabela, on the other hand, saw her and gave each other and eyewink.

Merrill stopped right behind Sayo and singed: "Good morning!"

Sayo cringed out on the sound of her voice. She giggled and sat next to him, glaring with dreamy eyes, blushing so much her cheeks almost reached the colour of apple Damien's eating. Awkwardness surrounded the table. Sayo and Merrill were looking at each other, Damien and Isabela looking at them.

Isabela stood up. "I'll go grab some ale!"

"Me too!" Damien followed her, giving Sayo an encouraging pat on the shoulder.

Sayo and Merrill were left alone. Sayo felt his whole body slowly covering in sweat. Merrill cleared her throat awkwardly.

"Ahem… So...Did you sleep well?" She asked leaning little closer to Sayo.

"No." Sayo said silently, avoiding her eyes.

Merrill smiled at him. "Me neither! I couldn't sleep at all. I was so excited!"

 _"_ _Please don't tell me it was her first kiss!"_ Sayo thought, feeling like a piece of shit.

"I've never been kissed on lips before!" Merrill continued.

 _"_ _Great!"_ Now he was furious at himself.

"Merrill, look...I...It was...I was drunk and I wasn't thinking, alright? It's just...My body moved on its own and...I'm sorry."

He got up and walked his was out, leaving Merrill standing alone, once again. Damien and Isabela watched as Sayo rushed out from the tavern. Both of them groaned in disbelief. They glanced at Merrill, who looked like she was about to cry.

"You talk to Kitten, I talk to Browncake?" Isabela asked, taking a big sip of ale.

"What? I can't talk to her! Look at her, she is… sad."

"You can explain Browncake's feelings better than me, you know him better!" She slammed her mug on the counter, wiping her mouth with her hand.

"But-"

"No buts! Go!" She quickly passed him, and rushed her way out to catch up with their half-elf friend.

Damien carefully made his way towards sad little elf.

 _"_ _Last time I tried to comfort someone, I ended up having sex with her all night."_ His stomach crammed at the memory of a night with Leliana.

He sat next to Merrill. "Hey, Kitten."

"Hey." She replied.

"Uhm… Look, I know this is all confusing to you, what Sayo just did but… He'll cool his head and, maybe then you will be able to have a nice chat about… All that."

 _"_ _Wow! Nice one, Damien! You fucking nailed it!"_ He thought sarcastically. _"I'm so bad at emotional stuff!"_

 _"_ Did I do something wrong?" Merrill asked hoarsely.

"No! No… It's just..." He tried to find the words to explain. "We are...rotten. We've done some really bad things, and we find it much easier to just… Ignore feelings. You're innocent and pure and you have a good heart. I think Sayo is afraid he will spoil you."

"You are not bad! I like all of you! I wish I had your life. Adventures, love affairs..."

"No! You don't!" Damien interrupted her. "You deserve better!"

"What about your girlfriend?" She asked suddenly. Damien felt like a battle-ram kicked him in the chest.

"She is not my girlfriend! And what about her?"

"Do you love her?"

Damien went silent. He never really thought about it.

"Well… I...I don't know." He answered honestly. "The problem is I don't even know if she is still alive, so it's easier not to think about it."

"I'm sorry..." Merrill looked ashamed for asking that question.

"Don't worry. I buy you a drink, what do you say? It'll make you feel better."

Merrill gave him a gentle smile. He got up and walked his way to counter, his mind full of Leliana.

* * *

Sayo was sitting on crates at the docks, gazing at the distant ships and seagulls that tried catching some fish and scraps from fishing boats. Isabela's voice woke him up.

"Hey, Browncake!"

"I'm not in a mood, Bela!" Sayo knew she will probably tease him with childish jokes.

"Well, I don't care! I care about Kitten and I won't let you hurt her!"

"I don't want to hurt her!"

"Good! 'Couse if you do I'll rip your heart out and give it to hungry dogs."

They both chuckled.


	13. Nightmares

The routine usually brings familiarity, and humans are mostly drawn towards familiarity. When you slip into routine, the years can pass quickly and thus, three years have passed like a fleeting wind. The search for relic went on and on, but in the end it failed. It was hard to believe three years have already passed since Varric came back from Deep Roads expedition, telling them how Bethany got Blight disease and Hawke gave her to Wardens, saving her life. It was even harder to believe these damned horn-heads were still in Kirkwall.

However, it would be false to say nothing good happened these few years. Damien's _informant network,_ as he liked to call it, spread all over the Kirkwall. Most of the information about the relic were rubbish, but they managed to get some good info about Qunari movement, mage and templar plans and right now they've proved themselves useful in an investigation Hawke's been doing with some templar named Thrask, regarding women went missing last few months.

Sayo noticed Damien's spies doing some decent work, so he decided to help his friend with maintaining all the information and payment. He got the idea to jokingly call it _The Spider Web,_ as in Damien's nickname. Originally it was meant as a way to make him mad, but Damien was thrilled with the idea. Soon, all the papers they got from their spies were marked with a little scribble of a spider near the bottom. As for Merrill and Sayo, after weeks of killing threats from Isabela and Damien, Sayo finally made a move. Thus, they began their relationship.

Also, Hawke finally bought her estate. The money they got from Deep Roads expedition was more than enough to buy the old place, and thus, she expected her friends to visit. Isabela sent her a letter, marked with a lipstick kiss and a scribble "Expect a loud bang tonight!" but knowing Isabela, it could mean anything.

Actually, pirate trio was on their way to visit Hawke for the first time after she moved into Hightown. Calm Kirkwall afternoon was peaceful during day, even boring. The square where Hawke lived was pristine clean, and Isabela constantly looked around herself, feeling quite uncomfortable.

"Hightown! High. Town. Why, even the name sounds uppity! Everything interesting is happening behind the closed doors!" Isabela spat while they walked through market. As she sucked the snot deep from her throat and gargled it, spitting in on the floor, some noble looked at her as if she's a filthy dog.

"People in Hightown are equally rotten as those in Lowtown, they are just better in hiding it." she said.

"Hawke, and a noble. I'm both terrified and impressed." Damien giggled.

The Hawke estate opened itself to them in all its splendour. Isabela had the honour to knock on the door. To be fair, they haven't expected Hawke or Leandra to open the door, since most nobles had their servants. But surprise was greater when they were welcomed by a stout, brown haired dwarf.

"Oh, hello there, messer. Lady Hawke told me she is expecting you, come on in, please!" He greeted them in merchant-like, overly polite manner.

"And here I thought Varric was the only dwarf in Hawke's life. I hope this doesn't break his little heart." Damien joked, shaking dwarf's hand.

"Don't worry, I have his permission." Hawke walked in hallway, smirking mischievously like always.

The living area where she led them looked rather grand. There was a fire, warming the place in a big stone fireplace. Desk on the other side was chocked full with letters, and there was another filled to brim with all sorts of liquor. Even the staircase leading to the balcony was big, as the balcony overlooked the entire room.

Isabela wasn't impressed, so she searched for the ways to create mischief before she noticed another, younger dwarf, leering at her from the corner of the living area. His big, blue eyes stared at her with an empty, creepy stare.

"Another dwarf? Really, Hawke? Are you opening another branch of Blooming Rose?"

"Hello!" creepy dwarf mused, waving at them.

"They're here to repay me for saving Sandal's life." Hawke chuckled, pointing at young dwarf who still glared at them with that empty, glassy look.

"Anyway, make yourselves at home. Care for a drink?" she asked, approaching the liquor table.

"Maker, yes!" Isabela replied, while others giggled.

Naturally, Damien didn't hesitate to look around the house.

"Maker's bloody balls! You have your own library in here?!" he gasped when he entered the room full of books.  
"I did not take you for a reader." Hawke replied, pouring whiskey into glasses.

"Oh I read... you know, stuff about Orlesian backroom politics and Ferelden's doggy style."

He entered the room and quietly closed the doors, separating himself from the others. Aside from many books there was a desk with blank vellum and quill. Stepping closer he saw an opened letter. It was from Bethany. He couldn't help himself not to read it.

 _Hawke,_

 _So it's official: I'm a Grey Warden. Stroud says I'm lucky that the Warden's ritual has kept the taint at bay. Not sure if I'd call it luck, but I'm alive._

 _It's been brutal, going through this. I have awful nightmares. I close my eyes and hear whispering. Is it real, or am I going mad? I'll survive that, too. That's my life is now: survival, getting through each day. That's what you wanted, isn't it?_

 _Tell Mother I miss her._

 _With love,_

 _Bethany_

"What's that? A letter?" Sayo entered the room, holding two glasses filled with brown liquor.

Damien took the glass, leaving the letter at the desk where he found it. "Yup, from Beth."

"What does it say? How is she?"

"Angry at her sister it seems. It reminds me on Ben's letter. The whole situation does, actually."

At the mention of their master, Sayo felt lump forming in his throat. Flashbacks of events from Val Royeaux erupted in his mind. He tried to forget it and move on, move forward and enjoy the time he has with his friend and Isabela. This is what Ben would have wanted. However, he would still feel sad when he remembered.

Damien walked his way past Sayo, to the living room, where Hawke and Isabela had their share of flirting in front of the fireplace. They noticed him approaching.

"Any news from your spies? You know, about those women gone missing?" Hawke asked, filling Damien's empty glass.

"Nope." He took a sip of whiskey. "This guy is some smart whoreson, Hawke. It's like he knew we are getting close, and now he's remaining still. No one received white lilies, no one is gone missing, and weird enough no blood mage activities for almost two months. And, honestly, I don't like it."

"Calm before the storm." Hawke whispered, her eyes fixed at flames in front of her.

Damien noticed she finds it weird as much as the others. Usually they would receive information about this case at least once a week.

Damien didn't like the way atmosphere in the room darkened, so he decided to tease. "But I did hear something interesting. You mother has been seen with a man, Hawke!"

"Yes, I know, she told me she has a courtier. But she still won't let me meet him. I wonder why."

Isabela almost choked on her drink, chuckling. "You wonder why? Really?"

"Are you excited? I mean, you'll have a new daddy!" Sayo, who just joined them in the leaving room, tried to sound like overexcited child, making him sound more like Merrill.

"I really don't have much time to think about my personal life." Hawke replied sarcastically.

They laughed, and drank for few hour, until Isabela ordered them to leave the house, so she and Hawke can have some "special alone time".

* * *

Damien walked through the woods for who knows how long. He didn't know where he was or where he was going, his legs moved on their own. The air wasn't fresh, but rather heavy, like every breath is making him more and more anxious. Suddenly a strong wind blew, almost lifting him up in the air. He covered his eyes. The wind was so cold, freezing his bones, sending chills all over his body. Wind finally stopped. Damien slowly opened his eyes. The scene in front of him left him shocked. He felt his body shiver in fear and anger, his eyes filling with tears.

His sister, Percilia, was pinned down by a man, filthy toothless brute disgustingly licking her face while he raped her. It was the same scene he saw all those years ago when he was a little boy, before Ben found him and took him in. He thought he forgot about it, he buried it deep so he never remembers that day again. Percilia's eyes were fixed on her brother, full of pain and despair. She raised her hand towards him. "Help me..." She cried out. But Damien couldn't move. He just stood there terrified by the forgotten memory in front of him.

"Help her!" The voice screamed. Damien looked around and saw his father lying on the ground. His stomach was cut open and he held his guts. "Help your sister, son!"

Next to his father was his mothers lifeless corpse, holding a dead two years old girl in her arms. The terror now struck Damien like a storming wave. He couldn't breathe.

"Help me!" "Help her, Damien!" The cried and screams filled the air.

"I..." Damien was breathless. The words barely left his mouth. "I can't. I.."

A faint laughter echoed, mixing with his sisters and fathers screams.

 _Coward!_

Damien rose up, waking from the worst nightmare he ever had in his life. The terror was still in his body, he was shaking like a twig, covered in cold sweat that soaked the bed and his head hurt so much like someone hit it with a huge maul. He buried his head in hands, trying to ease his heartbeat and breathing.

The doors opened then, and Sayo entered the room. Only then Damien noticed until now, he was alone in the room, and he was thankful for it. Sayo looked at him for a few seconds, trying to figure out what is going on.

"You wet the bed?" He asked, jokingly.

"Honestly, I don't know." Damien answered with a hoarse voice.

"You okay? Had a bad dream again?" Sayo sounded concerned.

"Fine." Damien got up, and walked his way to a washing bowl. When he lifted a clay jug, he noticed it was empty.

"Yeah, sure. You look terrible!"

"I said I'm fine!" Damien snapped, throwing the jug on the wall in fit of rage. Jug smashed in pieces.

Awkwardness filled the room, and the only sound was Damien's heavy breathing.

"Can you please get me some water?" Damien almost whispered the words.

Sayo was still in shock by his friends sudden outburst of rage. Something was not right about him. Just few hours ago he was joking around with Varric and laughing his ass off.

"Sure." Sayo said and left the room.

Damien was alone again. The pictures he saw in the dream still haunted his mind.

 _"_ _What was that dream? And that laughter?"_ He remembered the creepy laughter echoing through the dream. _"The voice...There was the voice."_

 _Coward._

Damien jumped in scare, looking around the room, trying to find the source of that creepy whisper. No one was there.

* * *

Sayo woke up in the middle of the night, troubled and confused. His clothes laid neatly aside, put in the perfect order next to his bed. There was a terror in his body, he felt his body shivering and he punched the wall, trying to clear his mind as the cold sweat evaporated from his skin. Damien and Isabela were still asleep. Sayo paced across the room, trying to calm his nerves down.

As they usually do, dream started rather normal. From the darkness of slumber came a familiar shape. It was a place where he grew up, a home in the Llomeryn alienage where he grew up, along with the rest of the elves. His mother was an Elder of the alienage, thus they had a bit more money than the others and yet, by the human standards they were poor.

A soup steamed on the table as his mother made a salad, looking at him with a smile on her gentle, tanned face. He observed her vallaslin, trying to remember every detail because this scene repeated itself in his dreams a lot of times. It was a tattoo shaped like tree, symbolizing Goddess Mythal, the protector.

"Mom, did that hurt?" he asked, pointing at tattoos.

She would always answer the same: "Of course not! Dalish does not get blood writing unless he's ready."

And then this smile. This smile that made him sad, because he knew what comes next. In every one of his former dreams, he would force himself awake. It was too much to bear. However, in this dream he tried forcing himself awake but it didn't happen. He felt paralysed on this chair.

"Are you feeling aright, my dear?" she asked. In this very moment so long ago, Sayo had a sudden foreboding of something terrible.

"Mom, we have to go!" he yelled. His sixth sense was screaming.

"Where would we go? We're in the Alienage, my dear." She smiled.

But he was too late. By the moment he felt the danger, it was already on the door. At first he had heard knocking, and as his mother opened the door she was greeted by the sight of a pirate, obviously drunk out of his mind.

"I came to collect the tax!" he yelled, his ale breath filling the room.

"The tax? You're a pirate! We've already paid the tax to the Queen." She was confused.

"Armada demands the payment!" he yelled.

Mother was always ready for trouble. She carried an ironbark dagger, and as he grabbed her she sliced his fingers off.

"Mother!" Sayo yelled.

"Sayori, run! He's drunk and he will hurt you! Run!"

Sayo didn't use his full name for such a long time. It sounded alien now. Sayo tried running away, but he felt paralysed and could only watch. Her words became somehow distant, she yelled, the dream became a flux as the noble-looking pirate grabbed her and tore the dagger from her hand.

"No one will hear you scream, little bitch." He said, closing the doors, as he clasped her mouth and pushed her against the wall. She was very agile and fast, but she couldn't do anything as he pinned her, ripping her dress apart.

She screamed, cried and bit his arm, but he didn't relent. The blood from his severed fingers stained her dress and cheeks as her panicked eyes showed Sayo to run away. That's when Sayo finally pried off the chair, running out, screaming his tears out.

"Help! Help! Please, help, my mother is being killed!" he yelled, grabbing the dirt of Alienage with legs as fast as he could, as he ran, tripping over his heels.

But nobody cared. Even if it was their elder, they were too afraid to go against the Armada. Pirates could burn the Alienage down, and no one would care. He noticed two pirates standing guard outside of his house, not letting anyone in. It was a miracle he ran away, but he realized he won't be able to go back to his home anymore. He had heard her screams now – the guard didn't even care.

How he wished he could erase those screams from his mind, screams begging for help. They cut his heart and he cried.

"Please, let her go! Let my mom go! Mom!" he yelled to those guards. They tried suppressing their emotions, but this man was obviously higher ranked and they had to keep silent. Both of them tried ignoring Sayo's existence, and he quickly darted between them back to the house.

How he wished he never did this.

Noble-looking pirate held a dick in his hand, masturbating over his mother's body. She laid prostrated on the floor, with eyes staring at the ceiling and mouth opened in an attempt to breathe air. However, her throat was slit, turning her breath into sucking, gurgling sound, mixing with the sound of terrifying gasping. She turned to Sayo, reaching out to him. Her throat was slit and the blood gushed from her mouth, forming in the pool around her head.

" _Sayo… run…"_ she formed with her lips.

"Mother!" he screamed. Drunk pirate shot a load over her body and turned towards a boy, back then still a little girl.

"What do we have e're? A little girl! Double the luck!"

Sayo felt his whole body going numb. All he could do is to grab his mother's dagger. All the other things happened in a flash. He jumped on the drunk pirate, screaming in pain. As he screamed, he pushed the dagger deep into his body. He screamed, stabbing.

 _Stab_

 _Stab_

 _Stab_

 _Stab_

He felt his whole hands getting bloody and yet, he screamed as he carved his face with a dagger, gouging his eyes, slitting his cheeks, pulling his hair, even long after the pirate was dead. Seeing what happened, and the pure anger and hatred behind the deed, pirate guards ran away in terror.

The nightmare started disappearing, and Sayo awoke in his room. He remembered what came next. He pulled himself out of the house, puking in the back alley, walking like a corpse throughout the town. He managed to crawl through the hidden exit out of the Alienage and as he found a way inside one of the crates on a docked ship, he ate some fruit and fell asleep.

That's how he smuggled himself to Antiva, where he was found by some dockworker who sold him to Crows, seeing the bloody dagger, blood-stained shirt and everything else.

So many years have passed, and Sayo still felt shattered from all of this. As he reached the window, he noticed Damien wasn't asleep at all. His face was twisted in pain; he stared at the distance and held his forehead.

"Oh, Sayo. You can't sleep too?" he asked, trying to sound as normal as possible but his voice was shaking.

" _Ir abelas._ I woke you up."

"You don't have to apologize, not even on elven. I had a nightmare too."

"About what?"

"I... don't want to talk about it."

Sayo fell silent for a moment. His nightmare was about his mother, but Damien's dream might be something even worse. They dreamed about the most terrible event they went through.

"Is this why you thrashed around so much?" Damien asked. Sayo nodded, not even noticing a tear on his cheek.

Damien made another painful grimace. "My head is going to explode. Let's get something to drink, alright?"

They went down to Hanged Man, almost empty if not for few drunkards in the corners. Barkeep dozed in the corner, but as he heard the footsteps he bolted awake.

"Oh, customers!" he yelled.

"Don't worry about it, barkeep. It's just us, regulars." Damien laughed, throwing few silver coins on the bar. He gave them drinks and they sat in the corner.

"You shouldn't run away from yourself anymore, Sayo." Damien said, taking a sip of the ale.

"What do you mean?" Sayo asked, staring at the distance. He still felt feverish, and his body was shaking.

"You're a woman. Everyone knows it. We know how you feel so we regard you as a man, but you shouldn't run away from yourself any longer."

"Look, Damien. I've already discussed this thousand times with you and I won't say it again. I'm not a woman; neither will I ever again be one."

"Fine, fine. Don't get all angry with me. I'm just saying that your nightmares won't stop unless you face yourself."

"The women are weak. All of them are weak. I won't be weak."

Damien sighed, taking a large gulp of the ale.

"Does the Captain strike you as weak?" he asked.

"Ma serranas, but I don't need your help, Damien. I'm fine with myself just as I am. You're troubling me more."

Damien's face looked tired and exhausted. His face had deep, dark circles and his voice was hoarse and shaky. He tried being cheerful but it was obviously a ruse.

"I wish those nightmares could stop, Sayo. I've had them for some time now."

"You know; my mother would always tell me one story. Once upon a time, Falon'din, Mythal's son, couldn't fall asleep. Mythal cradled him as a mother and told him:'Don't cry, my child. One day you will become strong enough to lead every soul to rest. One day you will become the one on whom the others will rely for help. You see, every child is born restless. We don't know who we are and what is our purpose. As we suffer, we grow. As we fear, we learn. Embrace your fear, Falon'din. Do not fear the death. Embrace it." And as she said those words, Falon'din smiled and embraced Mythal. That night, he finally slept peacefully."

"So you're saying I should embrace you and rest my head on your bosom?" he laughed. Sayo blushed.

" _Fenedhis!_ You moron! I didn't mean that!"

"I know, I know! I'm just joking. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Sayo went out of the Hanged Man, leaving Damien to his thoughts. The sun rose over Kirkwall, and for the first time in a very long period he actually felt peaceful. It was good to talk with somebody, and to give somebody an advice. He couldn't decide where to go, but it wasn't important. He might visit Merrill, and then he will go wherever the feet take him to.

In the end, nothing really mattered.


	14. All That Remains

Damien is known as a very stubborn man. Sayo knew this, and yet, his stubbornness made him go crazy, time and time again. Sayo waited for that special moment when the karma will come to bite him in the ass. Why was this so? Because tonight, Damien had another nightmare, yet this time he screamed so loud Sayo thought the whole Kirkwall could hear him. Again, he didn't say what was wrong; he just stormed out of the room.

Later on, he found Damien sitting in the corner all alone, rubbing his eyes, with a half-empty bottle of rum next to him. He took a seat at the table.

Damien raised his eyes from the mug.

"You know… maybe I will take your advice." He said. He sounded so tired and tortured. "Maybe I'll just go to the Blooming Rose, grab a whore, and fuck her. Maybe then, I'll get some decent sleep."

Sayo couldn't help but chuckle at his words.

"That's not what I meant, but give it a try by all means."

Damien fell silent again, deep in his thoughts.

"Sayo, I think something's wrong with me."

"You don't say."

Damien chuckled. "I mean, more wrong than usual."

He joked, but Sayo knew he was serious. When you are friend with somebody your whole life, you start recognizing those fine nuances where joke stops being a joke.

"Will you tell me, finally, why are you screaming like a little child, whenever you sleep? And who is Percilia? You keep screaming her name."

Damien turned pale at the mention of this name. He let a long sigh. "My sister.", he said. Of course, this shocked Sayo. Damien told him what happened to his family, but he never mentioned a sister.

"That doesn't matter! What matters is I… I hear -"

"Mister Spider!" a young boy, orphan and one of their _informants,_ interrupted them. He looked like he ran all the way here.

Damien looked at him angrily. "What?"

"Hawke...Her mother...Taken..." the boy barely spoke, trying to catch a breath.

Sayo and Damien slowly turned their faces to each other. Sayo put his arm on boy's shoulder.

"Try one more time, but slowly."

The boy took a deep breath to calm himself and spoke again. "Miss Hawke's mother has been taken by a man. There were white lilies delivered earlier today. I stayed and watched the house after they were delivered. Her mother's leaving escaped my notice, but then I saw Hawke run out the house. She asked one of my friends about her mother. Then I figured out what happened, and I ran here to tell you."

Sayo and Damien took a moment to calm themselves after this news. They didn't notice Isabela was in the room, listening to this.

"What are you doing sitting there, you scurvy idiots?! Let's go!" she ran out.

Damien threw a silver coin to his little informant. "Where did they go?" he asked, as informant ogled the money.

"What did ya say?"

"Have carrots in your ears? Where did they go?!"

"Storage house in Lowtown! The one you already investigated."

They ran out, trying to catch up with their Captain.

They ran through the underground hall that smelled like a rotten flesh and blood. Everywhere around them, blood-stained walls reeked and burned their noses. Soaked crates of goods, destroyed by all the dew radiated weird, indescribable smells – probably a mix of different rotten food. Damien felt his stomach twist at smell and could only reckon what will await them when they catch up with Hawke.

 _The fear awaits!_

The creepy whisper laughed again. That voice never left his mind, ever since that nightmare he had, few nights ago. Since then he had a feeling like everything around him seemed to be coming closer and bigger. It made him nauseous, and when he walked it was even worse. Sometimes the colours seemed to be more brighter, almost if they are luminous, making his headache unbearable.

 _Delicious fear!_

As they ran, they reached the strange room. There was a bed, bookshelves, table and books, all around the room. Whole place reeked even worse than hallway, if it was even possible. Maybe because this smell had a sweet, heavy accent of human flesh decay. Damien knew this smell – he killed many people and saw many corpses.

Sayo was stunned by the scene. " _Fenedhis!_ What's that smell? Does he live here?!"

"Lives… and kills. This is some crazy-ass man." Damien replied. His eyes caught up with a big portrait. "Call me crazy, but doesn't this woman look like mother Hawke?"

They all looked at it, silent for few seconds. It looked like a shrine dedicated to a woman that looked like Leandra.

"If I ever make anything this pathetic, do me a favour and stick a dagger in my eye." Isabela joked, but one could hear a worry in her voice. "C'mon, we need to find Hawke!"

As they were running to catch up to Hawke, Damien felt the familiar, eerie buzzing in ears and a strange sense of depersonalization. The walls, candles, everything around him moved in a pulsing rhythm.

 _Almost there. Almost._

The voice echoed again.

 _"_ _Will you shut the fuck up!"_ Damien screamed in his head, trying his best not to throw up.

Another room, same smell. Hawke stood there, along with Varric, Anders and Aveline. Gascard's corpse was lying there twitching, face down on the ground, blood leaping in streams from his throat pierced by a large bolt. Varric just grabbed the bolt and yanked it out. At the far end of the room there stood an elder man, a mage. His face was deeply unsettling. Gaunt cheeks only accented the madness in his eyes with psychotic look, strengthened by redness of his eye whites. It sent shivers down Sayo's and Damien's spine.

Hawke turned to Varric, shocked about something Damien didn't witness, but had something to do with Gascard's corpse.

"What? You were going to do that, right?" Varric asked Hawke, cleaning the blood and yanking bits of tissue from a bolt.

They both turned their attention to the crazy old mage, who gleefully stared at Gaspard's corpse before resuming his attention to Hawke. His crazy look turned into one of determination.

"You will never understand my purpose. Your mother was chosen because she was special, and now she is part of something… greater."

As he said those last words, crazy smile flashed over his lips and he turned the gaze towards the chair, with unsettling infatuated look.

"You're crazy, I get it! Where's my mother?!" Hawke yelled, with an angry glare in her blue eyes.

Old mage proudly smiled, turning another gaze towards the chair as if he observed his lifetime's work.

"She's here. She's waiting for you." He mused, continuing his dialogue after he observed the chair for a moment. "I've done the impossible. I have touched the face of the Maker and lived!"

Hawke shook her head in disbelief. Damien and Sayo both waited in the background, waiting for something to happen, hoping the worst won't come to be.

Damien wanted to turn his gaze away, but another depersonalization hit him like a truck and he heard a voice, whispering in his ears:

 _Observe, Damien! Look closely!_

Damien's had suddenly felt as if someone smashed a bottle on his scalp, as the echoing laughter jumped from one ear to other.

" _Fucking headache!"_ he yelled at himself, not paying any attention to what's going on around him, trying to ease the pain.

Old mage turned around again and said: "Do you know what the strongest force in the Universe is? Love."

These words felt so unsettling coming from his mouth that Sayo clenched his fist, trying hard not to jump on him and punch his face. But he didn't do anything yet, waiting for Hawke's signal.

"I pieced her together from memory. I found her eyes, her skin, her delicate fingers. And at last… her face. Oh, this beautiful face." His moaning voice echoed through the room, causing a nausea.

"I've searched far and wide to find you again, beloved, and no force on this earth will part us!

"Balls!" Isabella's loud gasp brought Damien back to reality.

Sayo felt like throwing up. A zombie-like figure stepped up next to a crazy mage. Every inch of Leandra's skin was sewn together roughly, mismatched in places as though from a different body. Her face was blackened and rotten, eyes as white as two empty and hollow moons. The white dress was covered in blood, torn in places revealing the extent of her torture. Hawke's mouth opened ajar, as she took a step back, shaking. Her eyes welled with tears from horror, as she grabbed her daggers and pulled them out.

"Oh, shit." Varric added, putting another bolt into Bianca.

Corpses sprang out from the ground, probably being there for a very long time. Those corpses wore clothes of soldiers, but some of them belonged to poor people who have died in the slums, forgotten. Blood mage raised his arms, filling their empty bones with restless spirits, summoning hungry shades and demons.

The battle against people would be bloody and glorious. Battles against demons had this darker side to them. Cutting through the unflinching bones that didn't bleed and cry for mercy unsettled both Damien and Sayo. Terror was amplified by the fact of not knowing how long will it take until they drop. Demons were even worse – shades had an ever-changing shape, and only the hit in their soft, somehow squishy cores did them damage, soaking their gloves with a viscous, dark goo.

Still, bones shattered, shades dissipated and finally, Hawke threw her dagger in the skull of the last skeleton and it fell down, unmoving. Mage still gurgled, trying to crawl towards Leandra's corpse.

"Oh no, you won't." Isabela spat on him, raising her leg with an angry scream, stomping on his head and splattering it all over the floor.

Leandra tottered towards Hawke, eyes filling with tears, still maintaining some level of control over the body that didn't even belong to her. Her mouth drooled and she couldn't see, and she would trip had Hawke not yelled: "Mother!" and grabbed her just as she lost the balance and fell on her knees.

"I knew you would come." Leandra whispered. Hawke's eyes welled with tears once again.

"I tried to find you!" Hawke yelled.

Leandra softly smiled:"Shhh. Don't fret, darling. That man would have kept me trapped in here. But now, I'm free. I get to see Carver again… and your father. But you'll be here alone."

Hawke swallowed the tears. "I… I'll be fine, mother." she whispered, trying to reassure her. Leandra was always so worried about Bethany and her – she didn't want her mother to go into grave worrying whether her daughter would be able to cope with the loss, or not. And it worked. Leandra smiled again, clasping her arm.

"My little girl has become so strong. I love you. You've always made me so proud."

With the word proud, the last breath just left her mouth and stayed there. Her empty eyes rolled back and her head drooped.

"Hawke…" Isabela came closer. Hawke just put her head down and her face distorted in pain. She tried hiding the tears but they just broke out and she held her mother's dead body as she sobbed loudly. Both Damien and Sayo just stood there, staring at the scene. Damien's eyes darted from mage's headless body, towards Leandra's corpse and crying Hawke. Varric put the hand on Hawke's shoulder, handing her napkin and smiling.

"There, Hawke. After you felt you've cried long enough, brush those tears and let's find a good memorial service in this shithole of a town."

Hawke looked at her friend with her crying blue eyes.

"Thank you, Varric." Her broken voice sounded so sincere.

Aveline took Hawke back home, while others walked their way to the Hanged Man. No one said a word, still stunned by recent events. Sayo was still in state of shock. He remembered his mother and the brutal way she was murdered. All this time, he thought nothing could come close, yet this… it was just nauseating. He was concerned about Hawke, and how will she ever continue her life after this. And Bethany! How in the Maker's name will they tell her that she lost her mother to necromancy?

They entered the tavern and took a seat at Varric's room. They just drank their ale, still silent. Suddenly, Damien screamed in pain, holding his head like it will split in two.

* * *

While everyone was still in state of shock and tried to wrap their minds around the events that happened an hour ago, Damien could only focus on the sickening headache and whispers he heard even more and louder than before. Those whispers were everywhere, making him disoriented. The flashing images of his family, Leliana and Ben, were appearing around him. He felt like he was forcefully pulled into a dream.

 _Isn't it beautiful? The fear? The despair?_

The buzzing made him sick. He felt like he will throw up any second now. He wished the ale will at lease ease the buzzing and headache. But it didn't.

 _You remembered them, didn't you? When you saw Leandra?_

 _"_ _Shut up!"_

 _Her lifeless body unleashed such tasteful fear inside you! The same fear you feel every night._

 _"_ _Go away!"_

 _The same fear you feel when you see your sister. When you see your precious Percilia._

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" He screamed and jumping up form the chair, losing his footing and fell on his knees holding his head that hurt like nothing he ever felt.

"Damie?" Sayo rushed to his friend. "What's wrong?"

"Make it stop! I can't take it anymore!" He burst through his gritting teeth.

"Make what stop? Damien, what is wrong with you?!"

Damien looked at his friend but he didn't saw Sayo. He saw a toothless thug he dreamed about every night. In a split second the unimaginable fear and rage filled his gut. He pulled out his dagger and tackled the man on the ground, ready to slit his throat. Then someone pulled him back.

"Damie!" Isabela screamed. She and Anders held him, pinned on the floor. "What are you doing? Are you insane?"

Damien tried to break free. "Let me go!" The only thing he felt was a dire urge to kill.

"Knock him out!" He heard Isabela's voice. And then everything went dark.


	15. Demon

When Damien got up, his face was buried in a dirt. Spitting the smelly, bitter substance from his mouth, he coughed. The air was thick, mist so dense it could be cut with a knife and it smelled foul, making it hard to breathe. Even while his headache disappeared, state he was in left him felt lightheaded. All around him was a familiar scene: house he knew by heart, burned down right in front of him. There was a field and a pungent smell of light smoke still rising from the burned crop. Above him was no sky, only gigantic rocks slowly hovering through the endless space with a low, menacing rumble.

 _"_ _Where am I?"_ he asked himself, walking towards the burned house.

"You are home, son." Spoke the weird voice behind him.

It wasn't just any voice – it was his father, or at least what's left of him. Where his stomach was ripped open, guts spilled out and now were dangling around like the clothing from the half-open cabinet. There were no eyes, only two empty eye sockets.

Damien suddenly felt weak, as if he will faint. He whispered:"Dad?"

"Look at you. You are weak. You failed me!" His voice was heavily distorted, as though two people were speaking at once. Underneath his father's soft calm voice, was an ominous, intimidating echo.

"Is this a dream?" he asked.

"This is no dream, boy!" Now next to him stood his master Ben with the same rotten, tortured face his father had. Damien almost retched, noticing large parts of his body eaten away. There was a gaping hole from his chest, extending all the way to the bowel and only a spine kept his body up in the air.

"If it's not a dream, how don't you just snap in half?!"

"As always, you ask idiotic questions! You've betrayed me, Damien! You were supposed to watch over Sayo, not give him to pirates!"

Damien knew this wasn't his master nor his father. This was something else. "Who are you?"

"Don't you recognize me?" In front of him, just few inches from his face stood Leliana. Only this one didn't have those beautiful blue, kind eyes. Now they were ringed with crimson, giving a hollow appearance. Her skin was pale, sickly grey and her kind melodic voice was distorted so much it made Damien sick.

She smirked, looking at him with disappointing glare. "Because of you, I was tortured. All you had to do was kill some elves. You and your half breed friend."

"Stop this! What is going on?" Damien felt anger filling his body.

Her laughter hanged in the air long after she disappeared in the cloud of mist. For a second, the laughter seemed familiar and then he remembered. It was the same laugh he was hearing last several days. When her laughter faded out, he heard another voice. This one was deeper, stronger, louder than any other voice.

"Loneliness is a powerful fear, Damien. And so delicious!"

Damien's whole body felt like it will break, blood pumped in his head and his headache became almost unbearable. Through the scream of pain, he yelled: "Show yourself!"

His clouded eyes barely noticed a figure walking towards him through the mist where Leliana disappeared.

"For someone who keeps losing people, you act rather carefree. But I know what you fear the most. I know all your deepest secrets." The figure was visible now. Damien stood face to face with himself. Only the one in front of him looked rotten and had glowing red eyes.

"Who are you?" Damien whispered. The headache faded away, turning into weakness which extended into his fingertips, making his hands shiver. He did not know if he was ill, or afraid.

The creature chuckled. "I guess there is no point in keeping my identity secret. I am the most powerful creature in this realm and the realm of the living. I am inside every living creature. I am Fear!"

Damien felt anxiety flowing through his body. "Demon?"

"Yes." The creature answered, pacing slowly around Damien.

"You're that voice." Damien realized.

"I've been in your head for quite some time. From the day you tortured the guard in Denerim, to be more precise." The Demon chuckled. "Ah, the delicious fear you felt that day drove me close to you. Ever since that day I was inside your head, watching you, observing and feeding."

Damien felt nauseous. "What do you want from me?"

"You see; mages are the easy target for us demons. They are connected to the Fade, and we can possess them easily. But they all fear the same thing: Templars, demons, blood magic." The Demon stopped now, smirking at Damien. "Let's just say, I was bored. I walked around the Fade, when I felt a glimpse of your...emotions."

"Cut the crap! What do you want?"

"I want to feed! I want to grow!" he raised both his hands in the air as he yelled and the echo filled the air, sending shiver down Damien's spine.

"But, worry not. I won't possess you the usual way. You won't turn into abomination… Yet." He smiled widely as he said the last word. "I want to torment your mind. Make you so miserable and full of despair. And then when I had enough..." He didn't finish, he just smiled.

"No. Please." Terror was all over Damien's body. His head was spinning, stomach churned and he felt the bitterness in his mouth as his throat retched and he vomited a bit into his mouth, falling on his knees, spitting the saliva.

"It is too late for begging. You are all mine! I own you now!" The evil ominous laughed echoed, Damien felt the same buzzing inside his head, and the same headache again. "Go back to your miserable world. We will have so much fun, you and I."

"I refuse! No!" he yelled, but the white light blinded him and he felt like something pulled him backwards, knocking the air out of his lungs as his back hit something solid.

* * *

"I can't believe he tried to kill me!" Sayo panicked, pacing around the room, where Anders and Isabela were nursing knocked out Damien. Ever since Anders put him to sleep with magic few hours ago, he was tossing on the bed, sweating buckets out of fever.

Sayo was angry at his friend, he tried to kill him for Maker's sake, but nevertheless worried.

"By the Creators, what's going on with him?"

"Calm down, Browncake. He wasn't himself. Actually, now that I think about it, he was acting weird for past few days."

"Well, if you weren't so busy humping Hawke all the time; maybe we could have done something about it sooner!"

"Rivaini, Browncake, stop it. Blondie can't concentrate." Varric said, still standing next to the door, ready to run for Hawke if anything unexpected happens.

Anders started to glow, the familiar pale blue light coming from his eyes and pores.

"Oh, hello Justice. Care for a drink?" Isabela said jokingly, giggling at her own joke.

Justice didn't reply. He held his hands few inches atop Damien.

"A demon." Anders calmly said.

That was a last thing Sayo expected to hear. "A what?!"

"I can feel him. He is inside Damien's mind. They are conversing at this moment."

"Well, how in the Maker's smelly ball sack did he catch a demon?" Isabela tried to sound funny, but Sayo saw a glimpse of concern in her eyes.

"He's coming back." Justice backed away, the glowing stopped and Anders was back again.

Damien suddenly jumped right up from bed screaming and scurried towards the far corner of the room in panic. His breath was laboured, he heaved and he looked here and there with wide eyes, hiding his face with hands.

"Damie! It's alright!" Sayo ran towards him, trying to calm him down. "You are safe!"

"No!" Damien held his head, rocking back and forth.

"Damien, look at me." Sayo said calmly.

Damien slowly raised his head, and his eyes met with Sayo's. Sayo's eyes filled with tears. His friend looked tormented. Look on his face was one filled with fear and panic; he never saw anything like it.

Sayo carefully leaned closer. "What happened?"

Damien looked around the room, like he was making sure he is not dreaming again. "I… I saw him." He said hoarsely. "The demon. He is in my head."

"What did he say?" Anders asked.

Damien sighed, making a painful expression. _"His headache."_ Sayo thought and carefully tried to get Damien back on feet. Isabela helped him, and they led him back on bed. After Sayo gave him a mug filled with water, Damien started to talk. He told them everything, how he started to hear a voice, buzzing, how he had nightmares and headache, what he saw when he attacked Sayo. And he told them everything that Fear Demon told him while he was out cold.

"Fear demon?" Anders was deep in his thoughts after he heard everything.

"Seriously? I already have my hands full with Hawke's grieving; now I need to take care of you too?" Isabela exclaimed, shaking her head in disbelief. "How do I get myself into these things?"

"Yeah, sure. I wanted a bloody demon to possess me, just to spite you." Damien replied sarcastically, rubbing his forehead. He was still in pain.

Sayo felt his heart will burst out of worry. "What do we do?"

"Maybe Daisy can help." Varric said.

"Yes! Merrill! I'll go get her! You watch him, I'll be right back." Sayo rushed out. He ran as fast as he could, jumping over drunken patrons and stools.

If anyone could help it is Merrill. She's a blood mage after all; she must know something about helping with a demon possession. Sayo rushed through the Kirkwall, passing through its sunset coloured streets, to the Lowtown, all the way towards a walled area of the Alienage.

Every time he returned to this place he would feel the anxiety pressing on his stomach, traveling through his chest, choking him, making him numb. He hated Alienages, and for the good reason. That's why he preferred meeting with Merrill in Hanged Man, or anywhere else other than here. However, it was dusk and the Alienage was peaceful.

He saw Merrill standing by the Vhenadahl tree. Sayo stood there for some time, observing what she was doing. She imitated dogs bark, staring at the tree, waiting for something to happen. But nothing did.

"Stupid tree!" she was frustrated, and then she barked once again. Of course, nothing changed. Some elves from the Alienage looked at her with confusion. Sayo realized she's embarrassing herself, and decided to interrupt her before she embarrasses herself even more.

"Merrill, what are you doing?" Sayo asked.

"Oh, my love. I'm barking at the right tree." she stated, very proud of herself.

"Yeah, about that… why are you barking at the Tree of the People?"

Merrill threw another hateful glance at the tree before clearing her sore throat out.

"I've been trying to find a pouch of alchemical components. I've asked around the Alienage, and nobody has a sprig of Dragonthorn. One of them said I'm barking at the wrong tree. There's only one tree I can bark at instead. But I've been barking for an hour, and it still didn't produce Dragonthorn." She looked completely defeated, staring at her little feet.

Sayo suppressed the desire to laugh. Luckily, he was adept in herbalism, so he always had a bit of ingredients with himself. He took three sprigs of Dragonthorn, neatly wrapped and packed in his knapsack.

"There you go. Your barking has paid off." He smiled.  
"Oh! You're a saint! Wait a little bit here. Don't move!" she said.

"But I have urgent news!" he yelled after her, but she already moved away on her quick feet.

"Don't. Move!" she repeated again, before she entered her home. She was gone for half of an hour and when she returned it seemed as if her alchemical concoction went wrong – she had soot all over her cheeks.

"I made a small… mistake." She smiled.

"You don't say. Anyway, I came here on an important business. Damien is in a terrible shape, and he needs your help. It seems he's possessed by some kind of a demon."

"A demon? Really? How interesting! What sort of demon? Is it big? Is it dangerous? Oh, I'm babbling. Take me to him." She said. It seemed she took this seriously, at least.

Damien frantically paced around the room. Sayo was taking too long - his headache and hallucinations were getting worse every passing minute. His fever didn't stop either; he was sweating like a madman and shaking uncontrollably. Anders tried to ease his suffering.

"It's a possession illness, I can't do much in that matter." He said, sighing in defeat.

Ever since Sayo went to fetch Merrill, Damien heard screams in his head. Sometimes they were painful screams of his family, and sometimes they were Leliana's. From time to time Percilia's tortured figure would flash in front of his eyes. He would scream, and ran as far as he could from that image.

Varric, who was pale from worry, stood up from the chair. "I'll go fetch a bottle of something strong. Maybe it will help." And he ran out.

He came back quickly and handed a bottle of whiskey to Damien. He grabbed it and took couple of large gulps and almost drank half of the bottle.

Isabela giggled. "And they say drinking doesn't solve anything."

"It's not really helping." Damien replied, breathing heavily.

Suddenly the door opened. Sayo entered the room followed by Merrill. It seems they ran all the way here, both blushed and breathless.

"What took you so long? Done a little quicky?" Isabela joked, making everyone laugh.

"No!" Sayo exclaimed loudly.

Merrill didn't hear Isabela's childish joke. Her big eyes were fixed on Damien. She was shocked.

"Oh my. Damie you look...terrible." She gasped, covering her mouth with hand.

"Yeah, the demon does that to a person, or so I heard."

"How can you joke in this state?" Sayo was angry at his friend. He looked like he will die any minute now, and still he joked like nothing's going on.

"Well what else should I do? Cry? Feel sorry for myself?" Damien muttered through a hoarse throat. It's how he deals with bad situations: he jokes. Sayo knows it well.

"So..." Merrill interrupted them, before they start a fight. "Sayo told me what happened. But I'm not sure how can I help." She said sadly.

"Just do something!" Damien sat on bed, pleading. "Anything!"

"Well… When Sayo informed me, it reminded me of something. Have you ever heard of Somniari? The Dreamers?"

Sayo knew who they are. His mother told him stories about them. "What? What are you talking about? Damien is not a mage!"

Damien looked at them confused. "Who are they?"

"Yes… Damien is not a mage. But maybe he just has a hidden magical talent that didn't show yet? Somniari is, after all a mage capable of entering the Fade at will. And he randomly enters the fade all the time." Merrill explained.

"That's bullshit! I'm not a mage!" Damien retaliated.

"Wait! Wait! We had some trouble with that lot. What was his name.. Fenael...Feynriel? Those elven names are all the same." Varric remembered.

Merrill nodded. "Yes, he was a somniari."

"That guy you made tranquil?" Sayo asked, remembering they were talking about it a month ago.

"Mage or no mage, we should do something! Can we probe into Damien's mind and kill the demon?" Isabela asked, pushing a pinkie finger through the index and thumb, with a glimpse of hope in her eyes.

"Yes, but..." Merrill sighed. "Sayo said that demon is in Damien's mind for a long time, and he said he was feeding. It may be really strong."

"Oh, cm'on Kitten. With Hawke's help..."

"No!" Damien interrupted Isabela. "Hawke has enough problems of her own."

"But..."

"No Hawke!" Damien was losing his patience with everyone around. "And no one is entering my mind; it's already crowded in there." That made Isabela and Varric giggle.

Sayo snapped. "Oh, for Creator's sake! Stop being so fucking stubborn and let us help you, you arsetard!"

"There is another way." Merrill jumped between them again. "But it is very dangerous."

Everyone looked at her.

"Well… Anders and I can put a barrier inside your mind. But it won't make the demon go away, and you will still have headaches and hear and see things, but not as often as you do now. But..." She stopped, looking at her feet.

"But?" Damien asked impatiently.

"But it may cause other...problems." She said sadly.

"Like what?"

"You may have blackouts. And you may go crazy."

"Am I not already?" Damien said sarcastically, making Isabela and Varric giggle again.

"And it will shorten your life span. Or it… You could die in the process."

"Alright! That's fine with me!" Damien was relived there is finally a solution to this sickening problem.

Sayo, on the other hand, wasn't. "What? It's not fine! You may die!"

Damien looked at his worried friend. "Sayo, I'm sorry, but honestly I don't care. For me this is a win – win situation."

Sayo knew he was right, and it was the only thing they could do at this moment. And it's indeed a win- win situation. If it was him, he would want the same thing.

"Fine. Do it."

Varric listened to all of this with folded hands, and raised hands in the air.

"Blood magic. Like this ever helped. Yeah, sure, let's do this ritual. Hawke would definitively agree with it. I bet her mother is switching to a comfortable side in her grave, listening to this plan."

Everyone turned to him. Anders was preparing to cut Damien's wrist in order to infuse his blood with mana. He almost cut it and only stopped mere inch from his skin.

"What's wrong now?" Anders asked.

"Blondie, Hawke would serve your head to Sandal if you did this to her friend. I know a girl, who knows a guy, who knows an enchanter in Orzammar. Let me contact him – he can provide us with a necklace which will protect him from the mind domination. He makes those things on a regular basis for miners who mine lyrium – even a dwarf will go mad when exposed for a longer time."

Anders sheathed his dagger on his waist.

"It's a mighty fine plan, if I might say so. But Damien is already on the edge. His mind might not survive next week."

"Are you joking? It will be here in two days – guy from Orzammar has a stock full of those things. You're underestimating my sources." He smiled.

"Very well. But if it doesn't come, we're continuing with this ritual." Anders said.

"Fine, Blondie. If it will help you sleep at night."

Damien fell on his back, letting a sigh of frustration.

"I can't stand two more days!" he yelled.

But he did. And the two days have passed quickly, at least for the others. Sayo and Merrill spent those days together – she was determined to make a new potion which will enable a mage to squeeze just a bit more mana. It wasn't a lyrium potion – it added to the mana pool. Two of them worked tirelessly, and after a second day she finally made a concoction which didn't explode when exposed to air.

Damien didn't sleep at all. When the night came, the demon crawled out of the darkness, tormenting him. The terror chipped away on his mind, eating his thoughts, making him a deranged insomniac who laid on the bed all night, screaming at nothing. All this time, Isabela remained at his side. She would leave the room to get some drinks from time to time, in order to ease his suffering.

Finally, the third day came and with it, Varric's promised amulet. It was a small bone tablet, carved with some dwarven rune. On touch, it emanated a strange soothing aura. He came to his room that afternoon.

"Shit, Spider. You look like crap." He said.

"And you look like a beardless… dwarf."

Varric laughed.

"In other words, the dwarf who wastes no time talking and gets shit done. Here you go." He said, throwing a necklace into Damien's waiting hands. Damien fastened it up.

"Well how does it feel?" Isabela asked.

Damien closed his eyes. Whatever was inside of his mind found some impenetrable wall, and he could feel its imprisonment and screams of torment that grew weaker, until they've became silent enough to make it manageable. He could still hear it, but it was much better than before.

"Maker… finally…" he muttered.

"I told you it will work. It won't remove the demon, but it will stop it from growing and taking over you."

"Yeah, but I look like a faggot." Damien jokingly complained.

Varric whizzed in laughter. "You're welcome."

Finally they were all in peace! After Damien put that amulet on, he immediately fell asleep and was out cold for almost two days. He felt much better. Headache was still there, but it was more like a mild pulsing. And voices were more like silent whispers. To him that was a salvation, and as soon he woke up he had to celebrate with his friends. It didn't take long before he got drunk.

"Sayo, did you and Merrill...do it?" He teased his friend who was more than glad to see Damien all fixed up and well.

"Do what?"

"You know." He singed, winking knowingly.

"That is none of your business!"

"Oh, cm'on! If Isabela didn't tell me you were with Zev, I would be sure you're still a virgin."

Sayo sighed and rolled his eyes. He noticed Isabela and Varric were listening, both wondering the same thing.

He felt his cheeks blushing. "I'm not telling you anything!"

"You are no fun at all!" Damien jumped up taking the last sip of ale from his mug. "Speaking of sex, I could use some fun in Blooming Rose. Anyone coming?"

No one moved an inch.

"Fine! I'll go on my own!"

Damien walked the streets of Kirkwall almost skipping around. He can't remember when was the last time he felt so good. The usually smelly air wasn't so smelly now, he didn't care about the hateful looks he gets from nobles. He was just happy he is alive and well.

"Spider! Sir!" The childlike voice called him. It was Urchis, one of the orphans that works for him.

"Hey, Urch!" He greeted him.

"Sir, I have news about that thing you are looking for."

"Thing?"

"The relic." Urchis whispered.

Damien completely forgot about that thing. "Oh, yes, the relic. So what's the news?"


	16. Betrayal

Damien ran back to The Hanged Man as fast as he could. This is it! They finally found it! He burst in the tavern, and ran towards the table where Isabela, Sayo and Varric played some cards.

"You done already? I think we have a new record!" Isabela joked when Damien approached them. Everyone laughed out loud.

"What? No! I didn't make it to the Rose."

"Even worse!" She joked again.

"Bela, we found it!" Damien yelled, before she cracks another joke.

Isabela turned serious now. "Found what?"

"The relic."

She jumped up, looking at him in shock. "Are you sure this time?"

"Absolutely! The Wall Eyed Sam has it. He will trade it with Tevinter mages tonight in Dark Foundry."

A wide smile appeared on Captains face. "I need to tell Hawke!"

Sayo was confused. "What? Why? We can do this alone."

"We need Hawke's help. Trust me. Wait for me at the docks, after dark. And stay hidden." She waved them and stormed out the tavern.

Damien walked to Sayo and whispered in his ear, so Varric doesn't hear them. "I have a bad feeling about this."

"Me too."

* * *

Seconds grew into minutes, minutes grew into hours and their Captain was still away. Silent dark docks filled them with eerie foreboding, as if the water splashing on stone sang about some impending disaster. Even the sky hanged on the verge of tears, starless, with black clouds dangerously rumbling above the city.

"Do you feel it?" Damien asked Sayo, staring at the sea.

" _Melana sahlin._ The time has come." he said.

"Melon softly, yes. I have a bad feeling."

Something told him to climb the roof of some storage house at the north side of the docks. There was no sign of Isabela. But something else filled him with dread. Further away in the Lowtown, thousands of torches blazed and burned, and Qunari called to war in their foreign tongue. Damien didn't understand what they meant, but the war cry is same in every language.

 _"_ _Shit! I was right. Got to warn the others! Agh, blasted headache!"_

His head started to pulse in pain harder now. That amulet did a good job, but sometimes the headache and buzzing would go worse for a moment. He decided to go down and tell Sayo about Qunari.

" _Fenedhis!"_ Sayo cursed, nervously pacing around, tired of waiting for Isabela. He knew she was up to something, and something bad. Furthermore, he was worried about Merrill. When Merril said she wants to do something, she does it. Sayo tried to talk her out when she said she is going with Hawke, Varric and Isabela, but she didn't listen. His guts were telling him something bad is about to happen.

Damien landed next to him, wearing the same anxious face.

"Something is going on with Qunari. They're going to war! Where's that busty hag?" Damien said in frustration.

"Busty hag? Well I'll take that one off your payment!" Isabela lurked from shadows, holding a big book under her arm.

"What took you so long?" Sayo asked. He noticed she was alone. "Where is everyone?"

Isabela slammed the Tome at Damien's chest, knocking the air out his lungs. "We are running."

As she handed him the book Isabela bolted away, so Damien and Sayo had no other choice but to follow. Sayo and Damien were shocked, naturally. First, the Qunari call to war, then their boss appears out of nowhere, now they have to escape.

 _Running? Why are we running?_

"Bela! What are you doing?" Sayo screamed. But Isabela just ran, not even turning back or stopping. Her black boots rhythmically hit the cobblestone, somehow further extending the feeling of urgency. She didn't run so fast since they met her. Thus, they had no choice but go with their Captain.

Three pirates ran away from Kirkwall as hard as possible. Damien barely kept up with them, carrying a huge book. After almost ten minutes of running they had to stop and catch a breath.

Damien almost passed out. "I...need...to stop...smoking." He whizzed.

Only now they dared to look back, constantly ignoring the sixth sense that screamed in their head. Both Sayo and Damien knew something bad is going on in Kirkwall, but only when they turned around they realized just how bad it was.

Kirkwall was burning. Hightown chantry was clouded by a pillar of smoke, Lowtown houses burned and they could feel the smell of burning flesh even here. Barrels of oil on docks caught a fire, exploding so loud the ground beneath their feet shook.

Sayo's heart hurt thinking that their friends are there in the middle of those flames. He glanced at Isabela. She was looking at the flaming city as well, with a hurtful expression.

"Bela, we have to go back!" Isabela didn't reply. "Our friends are there!"

"I don't have friends!" She said, stubborn like always.

Damien giggled. "Sure. If I die you would cry your eyes out."

"In your dreams."

Sayo lost his patience. "Will two of you act normal for a minute! This..." He showed towards the crumbling, blazing city. "Is our doing! Our friends are risking their lives, and for what?! Some dumb ass book?!"

Both Isabela and Damien fell silent.

Damien spoke first. "I agree with Sayo."

"What?" Isabela said in surprise.

"You are our Captain, and you know I would go through dragon's ass and out of its mouth if you tell me to, but this is wrong."

"This will save our lives! Castillon..."

"Fuck him! Fuck Armada! We have friends that will help us with those arseholes!" Sayo interrupted her, raging.

Isabela looked at them for few seconds. "Alright!" She groaned. "Let's run back!"

Sayo never felt happier than when he heard those words.

 _"_ _I just hope we get there before anything happens to Merrill."_

Thus they've ran again but this time back to Kirkwall, headlong into flames. Now, Isabela clutched the book. Sayo turned his gaze towards the crude book covered in leather, fastened with straps and buckles. When the flames lit their faces, he could see one word standing out on the cover.

"Kos...lun." Sayo muttered. When he realized what she held the cold sweat rolled down his back.

" _Fenedhis!_ Captain, you stole a Tome of Koslun!" Sayo screamed.

"Yes, I stole their fucking tome! So what?!" she yelled, as they ran.

"This, this is why people have problem with pirates! Tome of Koslun is one of their most holy books..." he screamed as he caught his breath, sprinting "... And they would start a Holy War against anyone who takes it away! This book, Isabela, is more important to them than Siren's Call was to you!"

"There's no time for lessons now, Sayo! All the more reason to return it to them!" Isabela yelled.

They have almost reached the City of Chains when a familiar face appeared.

"Bethany!" Damien yelled.

"Guys? What are you doing here?"

Sweet Bethany. None of them saw her in years. She looked well and she was wearing Warden's armour, with two griffins sparkling on her chest. Even the silver plate on her chest couldn't hide the fact her breasts grew. She had few grey lines on her throat, since the taint almost took her away in the Deep Roads, but her eyes regained their sparkling, innocent brown.

"Wow, you look sexy in that armour." Damien joked, making Bethany blush.

Sayo on the other hand was impatient. "Have you seen others? Are they alright?"

Bethany nodded. "Yes, everyone was alive last I saw them. Those Qunari made quite a mess!"

"Bethany, we have to go!" A man with the huge moustache called for her.

Bethany gave everyone a quick hug and waved in goodbye. The man who was with her turned her gaze towards Damien and Sayo.

"You two are Damien and Sayo, right?" he asked.

"Yes, we are indeed those two." Damien said, scratching his head in confusion.

"My name is Stroud. A pleasure. I met your former mentor, Ben. In fact, I was there as he joined. He spoke of two whelps from his former guild, quite often. Since he spoke of them so much, I would recognize you two anywhere."

"Ben is dead. We have more pressing matters now." Damien swallowed a knot in his throat. He didn't like remembering Ben – it brought up nightmares and sadness.

"I'm glad you're not flinching away from your duties and your responsibilities. Ben raised a sensible lad. I got to return now, may the Maker watch over you." Stroud said, running away.

"Are you two done?!" Isabela screamed. Damien and Sayo continued running, and somewhere on the path towards Hightown their way was cut by a group of large, angry ox-men.

"Hissrad's network was correct, karataam. This woman has The Tome. Kill her!" One of their leaders yelled.

"Balls." Isabela muttered.

"Captain, we can kill one of them, maybe two. But there are at least twenty of them here! We have to run!" Damien screamed.

"You're right! Sayo, Damien, move!" she bolted to the left. But Karataam anticipated her movements, and platoon moved, blocking her exits. It was obvious this unit of soldiers won't let them live. Isabela panicked, thinking she will die. Attacking a human soldier, ten, even twenty of them was easy – but a hardened Qunari had a skin like an elephant, horns like a ram and a strength of the grizzly bear. Damien checked his daggers, thinking of carving his way through.

The headache grew stronger; he pressed his fingers tight on the hilts of his daggers and ran forward, jumping like a spider to the wall adjacent to a street, and from the wall right on the shoulders of a soldier blocking the exit. It happened so fast; the rest of Karataam didn't have the time to react. It turned out Qunari neck isn't resistant to piercing damage more than any human. Soldier grabbed his throat, gargling, falling on the knees.

"Good job, Damie!" she yelled, and they started running away. To somebody else, it might have looked funny – three pirates ran like crazy from a whole platoon of angry Qunari. However, to the three of them it was the scariest run ever. Luckily, group of Templars and guards intercepted their way, and Karataam had to defend themselves from their swords and arrows. Isabela, Damien and Sayo saw an opening and ran away.

"Get them! Get the Tome!" their leader yelled, but the voices grew more faint until they finally lost them in the streets.

Hightown opened itself in front of their eyes, so Sayo and Damien worked, panicked, trying to pull the chain in order to bring the iron fence down. When the iron fell down, closing the way towards Lowtown, all three of them sat on the stairs. Isabela was shaking – Damien never saw her like this.

"Next time I agree to return into town attacked by Qunari, please, slap me." She muttered.

"Don't tell me strong Captain is afraid of few bulls?" Damien teased.

"Fuck off. You have obviously never seen an angry Qunari." Isabela answered. Sayo nodded his head, remembering Qunari he saw in Llomeryn. Those were mostly Tal-Vashoth, Qunari who have left the Qun, but there were a lot of Qunari Beresaad there as well, observing diplomatic relationship with Rivain. He saw many angry Qunari in his lifetime – regular human stands no chance against Qunari, no matter his training and skill.

"Captain is right, Damie. We should return the Tome and avoid the fight. Qunari will destroy this town and turn it into dust if we don't."

Damien just clenched his teeth, worried about his friends even more.

Hightown was as destroyed as Lowtown, maybe the chaos here was even worse. Was. Somebody fought Qunari here – and Damien felt awe and fear at the power of the one who fought them. At least thirty Qunari laid dead on the street – cut asunder, burned alive, charred corpses and guts everywhere around.

"Maker's balls." Isabela uttered, only now realizing why Hightown felt so silent compared to other parts of the town.

"Who did this?" Damien asked a guard who patrolled the city. When they saw three pirates, Isabela recognized Donnic, Aveline's husband. He noticed Damien's question, but plainly ignored it.

"You, civilians! Get away from the street, quick!"

"Donnic, is that you? Maker's balls, are you alright? Where is guard captain?"

"Isabela? Aveline, Hawke, Varric and Merrill went to Viscount's keep not too long ago! I advise three of you to move from the street! Qunari here are dead, but there might be more!"

"You don't have to tell us twice. Let's go, boys!" Isabela hollered, leading Damien and Sayo towards the great keep at the northern part of the district. Several templars guarded the entrance. One of them missed half of the arm, and somebody crudely stopped his bleeding. Most of them were covered in blood, but largest number laid dead at the stairway.

"Civilians! Get inside of the keep, now!" one without an arm yelled.

A great lot of civilians, mainly Hightown nobility, hid in the entrance hallway of the keep. Here, Aveline enforced order upon unruly folk whose anger and fear could escalate into trouble any given moment. When she noticed Isabela she rolled her eyes.

"You! All of this happened because of you! How dare you return here, bitch?!" she screamed.

"Guard captain. Charming as always, I see. In spite of your apparent trust in me, I came here to return what I stole."

"Now you act like you have a conscience? Maker have the mercy on your soul, because I swear, if my hands weren't full of helping these people who lost families due to your actions, I would kill you where you stand." She uttered. Neither Damien nor Sayo saw her angry like this before, but it's not as if she was wrong. However, Isabela was their captain and they were loyal to her, no matter what.

"I will go inside and return the tome to Arishok. Nobody has to die anymore." She said. Aveline looked at her with such hatred; it seemed as if she was killing her with her eyes. However, even Aveline agreed this bloodshed should stop. She moved aside, letting Isabela into the main room.

The Arishok stood in the middle of the angry crowd, seething with fury. Viscount's head laid dead on the ground, covered in blood. One of the noblemen laid dead in front of Arishok's legs, with head completely twisted around his neck. Isabela was stopped by some Qunari soldier, but faced with enough danger she completely lost any trace of fear. When the soldier attacked, she kicked his groin and moved him away with her leather boot, pushing him in the room as he groaned in pain.

Arishok just conversed with Hawke.

"So, tell me Hawke: You know I am denied Par Vollen until the Tome of Koslun is found. How would you see this conflict resolved without it?"

Isabela stepped over soldier's flinching body.

"I believe I can answer that."

Many people sighed in surprise, staring at Isabela. No one was more surprised than Hawke. Damien noticed Hawke let out a whimper of shock when she saw her lover returned and Sayo helped keeping watch over the flinching soldier, lest he decides to attack Isabela. She handed the tome to Arishok.  
"I'm sure you'll find it's… mostly undamaged."

Arishok looked surprised. He held the book in his hands, observing it for a moment. Damien could see his longing for home as the large ox-man said:"The Tome of Koslun…" as if he didn't see it for the whole eternity. Isabela turned to Hawke, smiling.

"Oh, look who's here! Trying to save the world again? Don't worry, I've got it covered this time." She said, and turning her gaze to Arishok she continued:"You want your tome back? You can have it."

Hawke's let out another sigh. Damien and Sayo both felt the shift of the atmosphere in the room when her pretty face frowned.

"You betrayed me!" Hawke uttered.

"That's a little dramatic." Isabela chuckled.

"We could have prevented this if you hadn't stolen the damned book!" Hawke was obviously angry.

"It was worth it, if only to see the look on your face." She joked.

Arishok handed the Tome to one of his soldiers, and the soldier bowed. When the tome was safely secured, he turned attention to Isabela, Hawke and the others once again.

"The relic is reclaimed. Now I am free to return to Par Vollen – with the thief."

Isabela cringed.

"What?!" she muttered. Aveline stepped forward, remembering the pain she went through consoling everyone who lost their family to this attack, keeping people in order. She lost several loyal men to this attack as well, some of them she knew since she became a captain.

"Oh, no, no, no. If anyone kicks her ass, it's me." She said.

Arishok didn't agree with Aveline's kicking methods. He scoffed, sheathing his sword.

"She stole the Tome of Koslun. She must return with us."

Damien felt so afraid in this moment – what if in anger, Hawke decides to hand Isabela to Qunari? I mean, he knew Hawke – she always stood up for her friends, no matter what. But Hawke hated traitors, and being betrayed by somebody who you loved hurt even more. He couldn't bear to lose another mentor, again.

"Sounds like you have something very specific in mind." Said Hawke.

"She will submit to the Qun and the Ben-Hassrath. More than that I will not say." Arishok answered.

"Isabela will answer according to our laws, not yours." Hawke defended her friend. Damien felt such a relief hearing these words – Hawke didn't plan to leave Isabela after all. Arishok unsheathed the sword.

"Then you leave me no choice. I challenge you, Hawke. You and I will battle to death, with her as the prize."

Isabela definitively didn't like it. Damien knew this subtle flinch in her shoulders – it meant she disliked what she heard. And of course, Isabela's answer was stubborn as always.

"No! If you're going to duel anyone, duel me!"

"You are not basalit-an. You are unworthy." He said, looking at her as if she's a vermin.

"Don't you have what you came for?" asked Hawke.

"You know we do not suffer thieves. She cannot walk away from this insult. I will take her. If you object, duty demands that we fight."

"Your death, your rules." Hawke said, unsheathing daggers from her waist.

"Meravas! So shall it be!" yelled Arishok.

Isabela cursed, moving aside. Damien and Sayo rushed to get her, and she seemed extremely distressed.

"Hawke is a… scoundrel! A duelist! How can she fight that… thing?!" Isabela uttered, staring at Arishok who was at least twice her size. Damien only now realized Isabela's worried about her lover.

"Bela, Arishok is a hulking brute of a warrior. Have you seen Hawke? She's so quick with the dagger, even I couldn't defeat her in a duel. Don't worry, Arishok won't see her coming." Damien tried cheering her up.

"Wrong, and wrong. Qunari are trained soldiers. Arishok is a leader of his people because he's experienced in fighting different kinds of enemies, and winning. Plus, have you seen his weapons? He fights with both hands. He's definitively dexterous."


	17. The Duel

Hawke took her stand at the empty corner of the room, regarded by Arishok's cold stare as he slowly unsheathed his massive battleaxes. Some of onlookers stared in awe, as he slashed them through the empty air as if they were toys. Bestial size of his weapons was only matched by his huge stature and massive muscles. Compared to him, Hawke looked like a scrawny child yet, she didn't flinch.

"Hawke, you idiot. You bloody idiot… Don't you dare dying on me." Isabela muttered.

Surprising everyone, the first arrow flew away. Hawke grabbed a small shortbow from her back, shooting Arishok right beneath the collarbone. Arrow dug into his flesh with a meaty sound, ostensibly striking nerve for his arm went limp for a moment. This gave Hawke enough time to tear the daggers from sheaths, running and delivering a slash over the joint of his shoulder.

Arishok didn't seem surprised, for the cut didn't render his hand useless. It seems he was allowing Hawke to revel in her small victory, while at the same time analysing her combat skills and tactics. This bought Hawke more time to think about her next move. He cracked his neck, stretched his shoulder and unsheathed his second battleaxe, delivering the first blow. Smash of the battleaxe sundered the marble floor. Hawke jumped away only a second away from her doom.

Everyone who would look at her would notice the empty stare in her eyes – Hawke was afraid. But even afraid as she was, she fought for her lover and friend. She ran forward, confusing brute who did not expect her to lunge right in his weapon's reach but she hit the rim of his belt with the tip of her shoe, using it as a leverage for an elegant jump, spiralling as she landed behind his back.

Daggers pierced his flesh, ripping into it. This obviously hurt him more than the arrow for he cursed on Qunlat and delievered a fury of blows. Isabela did not dare looking, at least one of those blows hit Hawke square in chestguard, launching her across the room.

She flew away, tumbled and hit the wall. However, this didn't hurt her that much and she coughed, standing on her feet.

"Hawke!" Isabela screamed. Hawke did not answer, turning her attention towards Arishok once again. The stab she did wasn't just damaging, she planned to hit his spinal nerves and she did, slowing him down. She assumed a battle stance, disappearing in the flurry of lightning fast blows. She became like a shadowy storm of daggers and for the first time, Arishok didn't know how to defend against this. It seems Damien was partially right: Hawke was extremely quick and huge Qunari just couldn't reach her in time.

"Vashedan bitch!" he screamed, putting the battleaxe down. He knelt down for a second, closing his eyes. It seemed that in fast combat like this, he relied on sixth sense more than his eyes. His open hand revealed a spiked end of the weapon. Hawke didn't expect him to actually predict where she'll move, and she was just a little bit slower due to her chest injury. As she moved to strike Arishok impaled her, raising her in the air. The blade pierced her torso, went through it and she helplessly gasped, flailing in the air.

"No…" Isabela uttered.

Hawke panicked as the cold spread through her body. She could feel her stomach filling up with blood and she panicked, coughing blood. Arishok swung his weapon, throwing her away and her blood sprayed onlookers as she tossed in the air, falling hard on her side. He took the weapon out, ready to cleave her in half. Air of silence filled the room but even injured as she was, Hawke rose up on weak legs. Spitting blood, she tore the poultice from her waistband, chugged it down and aura of strong magic surrounded her body. Large wound on her stomach quickly closed itself, binding tendons, soft tissue and internal organs. She flashed a mischievous smile, throwing a flash at Arishok's head and it shattered in contact with his heavy horns.

If Arishok was surprised by this, it didn't show. Hawke tried delivering another flurry of blows, but her hands felt weak. Even while she closed wounds, she lost a fair amount of blood and was too fatigued to try one of her special moves again. Arishok definitively noticed she was getting tired, and he used this to launch another flurry of attacks. Now, Hawke tried getting her hands to cooperate as she ran around the room, and Arishok chased her, delivering blow after blow.

It was kind of funny to watch – Hawke ran around the room and the pillars, and Arishok followed her, trying to hit her with his axe. When she made her fourth circle, it seemed her stamina regained because she quickly turned around, hitting the ground with her heel, plunging herself like an arrow towards his chest with two daggers like fangs of the snake. Her size didn't matter: the strength with which she plunged herself knocked him down from his feet.

For a moment, he didn't move and people just wanted to start cheering, but then he twitched and rose again. Two fangs, sharp daggers she carried, created deep bleeding lacerations in his chest. Attack such as this would cut an ordinary man asunder, yet he didn't even feel the pain – it just made him angrier and he swung attack after attack. However, injured as he was, his attacks gradually became slower until Hawke could predict exactly where he'll strike.

And it was her folly. Arishok let her believe his attacks were predictable, before making a feint and hitting her once again, from below to the chin. Only because of sheer luck she took a step back, earning a large gash across the whole body. However, even this hurt her really bad. She fell on her knee, and Arishok raised an axe to behead her.

However, Hawke smirked. Arishok didn't notice Hawke deployed a simple trick – when she ran around the room, she secretly uncorked a bottle of grenade oil she carried with herself. Everywhere around the room where they ran was a trace of oil. She moved aside a bit, using a match to produce a flame, throwing it into oil. The whole room suddenly turned into Hell's ninth circle. Arishok's long loincloth caught the fire and the flames licked up his chest. He panicked, head quickly darting here and there.

"What is this trickery, _vashedan_ bitch?!" he screamed.

"Don't underestimate my grenade-making skills and supplies." She smiled. Arishok screamed in pain, trying to move himself but she swung the last of the bottle at him, and the oil spread all over his body, catching a fire. He panicked, flailing, trying to douse the fire with his arms but whatever he did only engulfed him in fire further.

"Wow, Hawke. That is… brutal." Aveline commented, staring at Arishok who slowly turned into Qunari torch, before he knelt on his legs and let out a gasp. The weapons clanged as they fell from his hands and he dropped on his chest, his screams finally stopping.

"Panahedan, asshole." Hawke cussed as she rose on her feet, sheathing daggers on her back. Only then she realized a group of people who have cheered on her, because when she fought she didn't even look around herself.

"She defeated him!" somebody yelled.

"She defeated Qunari!" everybody else called. The rest of his soldiers, seeing a defeat of their leader, calmly backed away and without a single word left The Keep, not paying any attention to a crowd cheering Hawke's name and throwing insults to them. Isabela walked close to Hawke, grasping her hand and planting a deep kiss on her mouth.

"Meet me in my room later to discuss more… proper reward for your mighty deed." She smiled. Hawke just laughed.

"Of course, right after I push my guts back to the body and sew it all with a needle."

Isabela chuckled.

"Right, sweet thing. Off you go to Anders, then."

They made their way out through the cheering crowd. Damien and Isabela helped Hawke to walk. Pushing guts back to the body almost wasn't an overstatement – Isabela reckoned Hawke would have spilled guts had it not been for her reflexes and armour. She looked badly injured – the battleaxe possible broke a few ribs along the way. Sayo found Merrill in the crowd, giving her a big hug and a gentle peck.

"I was so worried about you." He said, squeezing an air out of her lungs.

Suddenly Aveline appeared, pulling Sayo away from Merrill. "Save that for later. You are coming with me. You two!" She turned towards Damien and Isabela. "You are coming too."

"What? Where?" Isabela asked confused.

"To the jail. You need to be punished for what you've done."

"What?" All three, and Hawke, asked surprised. "We returned the bloody book, alright!" Isabela said.

Aveline leaned closer. "I'll try to persuade the heads to lock you up for few months. I can't promise you anything. But I won't let them execute you. That I promise you."

They looked at each other, Hawke and Merrill too.

Isabela sighed. "Oh, alright. I guess we _did_ deserve it."

"But..." Damien faked sad face. "But… The celebration… The ale..."

Sayo rolled his eyes. "Oh, suck it up!"

* * *

In the end, all of them were tossed in the same cell. Three long days have passed and there was no word of her and their imminent punishment. At the dawn of the third day she finally returned, stomping feet, obviously still angry.

"I kissed so many asses, my lips will fall off!" she frustrated.

Damien snorted, trying not to laugh. The image of Aveline kissing asses just popped in his head.

"What, Donnic's ass isn't enough?" Isabela cracked a joke.

"Ha ha. Anyway, you are to stay in a brig for two months. That's all I could do."

"Two months? That's nothing." Damien said.

"You are welcome. Oh yes, try to behave yourself while in here." She said with her bossy tone and left.

They stayed silent for few minutes. Damien could see a worry look his Captain had.

"Don't worry 'bout Hawke, she'll be fine."

"I don't worry. I just can't wait to have angry sex with her!" Isabela and Damien laughed.

 _I have to spend two months in the same room with these two! Long two months!_ Sayo thought, trying to think about Merrill instead.


	18. Mark of the Assassin

Another night, another nightmare. Good thing is, Damien didn't have them every night. However, it still troubled him. The necklace was doing the job, but the headache, nightmares and voices were still there. Sometimes they would be strong and loud, sometimes he could ignore them. It took him whole minute to remember where he is. Strong scent of perfume overflowed his senses, king sized bed covered with Orlesian silks caressed his body.

The Blooming Rose.

Reaching out, he grasped a pear shaped ass next to his side. It was a raven haired prostitute, sleeping naked. He threw another glance at her perfect backside, and then he remembered. They were let out of jail, and the first thing he did was drinking his ass off, fucking this woman all night afterwards.

He stumbled on his feet, trying to find his clothes. Then the door simply burst open and Isabela entered the room.

"Oh, look at you! I'm so proud!" she said, making a "proud mother" gesture.

Damien chuckled. "Be a good mom and find my pants, please."

"Need an axe to cut that wood first?" Isabela giggled, helping him look around the room. The woman on the bed was still sleeping, or better to say pretending to be asleep, probably to avoid any conversation with a pair of horny idiots. After a couple of minutes Damien was all dressed up and ready to leave.

"Why are you here? Hawke's tits still too sore?"

Isabela chuckled. "I'm here for you, in fact. Hawke didn't want to start the party without you."

"A party?"

"Yes. She is a Champion of Kirkwall now. And she wants to celebrate her new title."

"Fancy title. It will probably bite her in the arse someday."

"Not if I bite her first."

They both laughed and made their way to Hawke estate.

Sayo already waited them there.

" _Aneth ara,_ Damien." Sayo greeted him. He wore formal clothing, and Damien chuckled a bit. He was so used seeing his friend in armour. Everyone was there already, except Anders, of course. Hawke didn't spare no expense. She hired a catering service to provide food, filling the table with various dishes from all over Thedas. There were expensive vintage vines, dwarven ales and various other drinks. Everyone was chatting, laughing, drinking and cheering to Hawke. She didn't seem to mind attention, and her wounds have already healed.

With such an atmosphere, playing Wicked Grace was given. Soon Hawke, Isabela, Varric and Damien shuffled a deck. And truth be told one could not say who cheated the most.

"Put that card back!" Hawke yelled at Isabela, who was shuffling cards.

Isabela raised her arms in defence. "What card?" She said with a smirk.

"I saw you taking the card! Put it back!" Hawke waved her finger angrily. "Put it back or no sex for a week!"

Isabela gasped. "Alright! Here! Please don't cast a dry spell on me!"

"Were I a mage…" Hawke chuckled. Everyone laughed, getting ready for another round of Wicked Grace.

"So, how's the life of a Champion going?" Damien teased.

Hawke sighed. "Hard, my dear friend. I get the bloody invitations for noble parties almost every day!"

"And… That is a bad thing?"

"Can you imagine Hawke wearing a fancy dress, drinking fine wine, and do noble chit-chat about Orlesian cheese?" Varric chuckled.

"No". Damien and Isabela said at the same time, making everyone giggle.

"The last invitation I got was from some Duke de Montfront. He is preparing a wyvern hunting party. Can you believe that?"

"Sounds Orlesian." Damien chuckled. "Are you going?"

Hawke snored. "No! I'd rather stay here and play cards with you cheating bastards than go to some fancy hunting party."

"Hey!" Varric, Isabela and Damien laughed.

Sayo went on a balcony to get some fresh air. He stared at the sky, enjoying the warm summer breeze. Kirkwall beneath his feet seemed peaceful for now and he found some solace in it. There is no telling what they will go through, thus he wanted to cherish this moment. He let out a sigh, and then he heard a pitter-patter of small feet behind his back.

"Oh, my love. I'm so sorry for interrupting. I just wished to get you some cheese. I know you like cheese!" Merrill chirped. Sayo smiled.

"I just have a really bad feeling. I'm relaxed now, but how long can it last? How can they enjoy this party, knowing this all might just end one day?"

"Parties end, Sayo. Everything ends. Our people were immortal, but even that ended."

She said, grasping his hand. Sayo pressed her small fingers and she leaned on his shoulder.

"But I feel safe, knowing we will never end." She smiled.

"Damien would now say something stupid like how maybe a star will fall and hit us, and that would be our end."

"Want to eat some cheese?" she asked, pushing a gouda into his open mouth. Sayo nibbled on a cheese, taking a bite.

"When you push it in my mouth like this, I can't really refuse."

Merrill pushed her hand up Sayo's jacket, stopping at his chest.

"Sayo, why aren't you a woman? I mean, you're a man but you're also a woman. But then again, I'm a woman but you act like a man even though you're a woman. Babbling again… Sorry."

Sayo laughed.

"I like being like this. Saves me of trouble with Isabela who would stare down my chest like a barrel of rum."

"She never looks at my chest." Merrill knowingly said.

"Hawke's bosom keeps her occupied too much."

"You speak about strange things." Merrill answered.

Isabela joined them on the balcony. It was a miracle she could even walk, drunk as she was.

"You… lovebirds! Join us as we get… as Hawke.. gets."

She said, turning around, hitting the window with her cheek before she regained the composure and hurried back inside.

"So shall we go inside to see Hawke getting?"

"Is she getting a cake? A gift? Oh, this is so exciting!" Merrill hurried.

* * *

For two days now, Varric was excited about something. He kept telling about a _great_ business deal, but would always curb his tongue in the end, as if he was bursting to tell some hidden secret. Finally, after two days, he called for Hawke and company, leading them to Hightown.  
Of course, secretive as he tried hard to be, he didn't tell them much about this meeting. The only bits of information he enclosed is that the person they're about to meet needs Hawke's help.  
"Can't anybody in this town get things done by themselves?" Hawke ushered as they walked.

When they got to the meeting location, nobody was there.

"And of course, there's no one." Hawke chided with sarcasm, glaring at Varric.

"All I know, Hawke, is that it's having something to do with you and nobles." Varric said, almost apologetically. Remembering a guy who told him about this info, he muttered:

"This guy, Edge, he's usually reliable."

Sayo looked around the desolated streets of Hightown. Something didn't feel right about this. He could feel it in his guts.

Isabela snored, obviously showing annoyance. „That's what you get for listening to someone named Edge.".

"Maybe he got lost?" Merril asked innocently. "I get lost all the time. Usually it's when I forget to bring my ball of yarn."

Everyone chuckled at a little elf.

Hawke leaned against the wall, her arms folded. "This looks more and more like an ambush by a second."

"Look, Hawke," Varric began, defensively. "It's not always an ambush. Maybe the guy's little late and…"

As soon as the words left Varric's mouth, they were surrounded. Dozens of armed individuals dropped from the buildings around them, popped from behind numerous hiding places, pointed arrows at them from a nearby staircase and drew their swords from scabbards until their prey had no way out.

"You were saying?" Damien jokingly said, readying his daggers.

"All right, all right! Maybe sometimes it's an ambush."

Damien had this habit to check his enemy out before an attack. These mercenaries weren't from Kirkwall – masks covering their faces had Antivan insignia. All except one had this mask, and this one was a tall blonde figure who seemed to be their leader. As the man moved into the moonlight, Damien noticed he was smiling at Hawke, satisfied. Every muscle in his body was ready to jump and fight.

"Ah, the Champion of Kirkwall." He said with Antivan accent, breaking the tense silence filling the air around them.

Sayo recognized the man. He saw him a couple of times in Crows headquarters.

" _Be careful. These are Crows."_ He whispered loud enough so Hawke and the company could hear.

"Enjoy you little title while you can. You die… Today!"

Everyone braced themselves, ready to fight. All of a sudden a dagger whizzed past Hawke's head and lodged itself in the Crow leader's shoulder. He yelled out in pain. Everyone in the square looked up in surprise to see a flash of red and green as a red-haired elf jumped from a nearby roof and slit the nearest archer's throat with a quick swipe through the air. Using his body as a shield she moved swiftly throughout the courtyard, tossing numerous of daggers in all directions. One by one they fell to the ground, dead. Then, moving with a speed and agility which came from years of training, the elf flipped and dived through the air, avoiding arrows and blades, killing as she went before running straight past a stunned Hawke's squad until she came face to face with a blonde leader. He was still desperately trying to pull the tiny dagger from his arm. The elf held her blade to his throat.

Damien had a better view on elf now and somehow she looked very familiar to him. _I've seen these moves before._

"KILL HER!" The man yelled to his remaining soldiers. "KILL ALL TH-"

Before he could finish his last order, the red-head slit his throat. She turned to the stunned group, who didn't even mind they were just showered with rain of blood.

"Well?" Elf asked with cheeky grin. "What are you waiting for?"

"Tallis?" Sayo asked, surprised.

"Tallis?!" Damien repeated after Sayo, but with high-pitched voice.

Red-head gave them a wink and after momentary pause, the fighting broke again. They all happily cut down the rest of the mercenaries. It only took them a few minutes to clean the square, the majority of mercenaries who remained clearly having just been there as a scare tactic, rather than to actually make a fighting difference. As the last of them ran away, the square was filled with blood and gore all around them. But none of them really paid any attention to severed hands, livers and intestines. Everyone stared at the red-head elf in front of them.

"Sloppy..." the woman began, looking around the dead bodies strewn across the square. "You'd think the Crows would be better at this."

"Tallis!" Damien called her out, his arms spread wide and ready for a hug.

"Sayo! Spider!" She greeted them with a wide smile. She stepped towards them, and for a moment it seemed that Damien was about to get the hug he was waiting for, but instead Tallis passed him and hugged Sayo.

Everyone giggled as they watched Damien's disappointed face.

"Well, nice to see you too!" He dropped his arms, faking that he is angry. "And interesting entrance, by the way."

"You know each other?" Hawke asked, wiping the blood from her face.

Sayo, who was still in some mild shock, nodded. "We've met…Before."

They met on a job while they were still with the Crows. They had a same contract and met just before they were about to assassinate the exalted Tevinter noble. After the job they spent few days together, trying to escape enraged Tevinter magisters. Fun times! But Sayo didn't want to say anything to others, Hawke and Varric still didn't know they used to be Crows.

"My name is Tallis… And I've been looking for you." Elf responded, eyeing Hawke.

"Looking for me? I'm sorry, but I'm taken." Hawke joked, making Tallis smile.

"Well, looking for someone who has an invitation to Chateau Haine, to be specific." the elf replied.

Isabela started to laugh. "Ouch, shut down early."

Damien laughed along with Isabela. "Yeah, she does that to everyone." He remembered how he desperately tried to flirt with Tallis only to get turned down numerous times.

"Anyway," Varric began, after he stopped laughing. "This must have been what Edge was about. Remember? Duke Prosper, the one who fawned all over you at the Champion of Kirkwall banquet. He talked about the hunt. You mentioned it while we played cards the other day."

"Oh, yeah," recognition struck Hawke, remembering she mentioned this hunt party. "Doesn't sound like something I'd be interested in."

"I was hoping you'd reconsider," Tallis continued. "The duke is a delightful host – or so I hear."

"Let me guess: this isn't just a social call?" Hawke asked, eyeing Tallis suspiciously.

"I need to relieve him of something he has no right to possess, and I can't do it alone."

"You want to rob him?" Hawke asked.

"Well, stealing from Orlesians is never wrong. Or so I've been told." Damien joked.

Tallis chuckled and shook her head. "You haven't changed at all."

"Nope." Damien said proudly.

"Anyway," Tallis continued with a serious tone. "This isn't how I imagined asking but...yes."

"What makes you think I steal things just because people ask me to?" Hawke sounded like she was offended.

"Well..." Isabela began. "Everything, Hawke."

"I may have had to talk you out from stealing. Maybe more than once." Varric said awkwardly scratching his head.

"As a matter of a fact you do it all the time." Damien said, knowingly nodding.

"Wonderful! Thanks!" Hawke replied sarcastically.

"All I've heard is that you get things done. I'm hoping that is true." Tallis continued.

Hawke gave a long sigh. "Oh, alright! What exactly is it you want to steal?"

"A jewel," Tallis replied. "The duke thinks it's valuable, and it is, just not in the way he believes. What's more, he shouldn't have it in the first place."

"Uh- oh. Tallis is angry. The duke is fucked." Damien said casually shrugging his shoulders. Tallis laughed. "He who wishes to walk on water must first learn how to swim."

"The words of wisdom, everyone!" Damien said loudly, pointing at Tallis.

"I'll explain everything along the way. If nothing else, you get fine wine and fancy company. But...I hope you want more than that." Tallis smirked. "Fancy meeting you here, guys." She waved at Damien and Sayo while walking away.

"Wait! That's it? No kiss for goodbye?" Damien teased.

Tallis didn't even look back. She simply replied: "No." And disappeared.

* * *

It's been four days since Hawke, Varric, Isabela and Aveline went to Chateau Haine with Tallis. Damien and Sayo refused to go. Damien hated Orlesians and their fancy way of life, and Sayo just wanted to spend these peaceful days with Merrill.

The day Hawke and company returned, Damien, Sayo and Merrill were drinking and chatting at their beloved tavern. As soon as they approached them, they could see they were beaten up badly: Varric had a black eye, Hawke was limping, Isabela held her midsection, probably broken rib or something. But Aveline was all in one piece it seemed; the woman is a freaking battering-ram!

Damien couldn't help himself not to make fun of them. "So… I'd say the party went well?"

"Oh, shut up!" Isabela said annoyingly. "Give me something to drink!"

Damien got up and went to the bar counter, still chuckling.

Sayo scanned the group. "What happened?"

"Where to start?! First we were hunting that bloody wyvern, and almost died in the process!" Hawke started to recite them the tale. Damien got back soon enough, handful of bottles and glasses. "And then that stupid party! I really don't understand those Orlesians! Anyway, Tallis and I were caught, and locked up. Did you two know she's a Qunari?" She eyes them suspiciously.

"Yes." Damien answered.

"And when exactly did you plan to tell us?"

"It's her personal thing." Damien replied casually sipping his rum.

"Anyway, Isabela and Varric came to the rescue, drunk of course so they got lost in that bloody palace. And some weird shit happened with some stone statues and Isabela."

"I really wanted that Dagger!" She pierced Hawke with her eyes. "Oh, and we have some new crewmates. I'll tell you everything later."

Sayo and Damien were confused, but kept the questions for later.

"And then we managed to escape that damned villa. And ended up fighting, well...everyone. And then the duke fell of the cliff."

Isabela burst into laughter. "You should've seen how he bounced!"

"I tried to keep up, but I got lost at Isabela and Varric came to the rescue part." Sayo said, still trying to wrap all that information in his head.

"Sounds like you had loads of fun! I wish I went with you!" Damien joked, taking a sip from his glass.

"You should've! Leliana was there!"

As soon as Isabela said those words, Damien choked on his drink, spraying it from his mouth on Isabela, who sat across the table, coughing frantically

"Thanks for the bath!" Isabela said sarcastically, wiping the rum from her face.

Damien finally pulled himself together and looked at Isabela with confused face.

"Leliana...was there?" She asked carefully.

"Yes! She looked nice too. She said hi, by the way."

 _She is alive!_ Damien was shocked. He had so many questions to ask but had no idea where to start.

"What was she doing there?"

"Drinking champagne and complaining about cheese."

"Not that! What was her business there?" Damien said frustrated.

"How should I know?" Isabela answered casually. "All she said is that she works in Val Royeaux, some chantry business or something. Didn't really pay much attention what she was saying - I was occupied with her breasts. They were really popping out in that dress she was wearing..."

Isabela stopped talking when Damien suddenly stood up, and walked away from them. He took a seat at the table near the fireplace and just stared at the fire with a serious face. Sayo had a bad feeling about this. Somehow his guts were telling him Damien will pull something dumb. But he could understand his friend. For four years they haven't heard anything about Leliana, and truth be told Sayo thought she was dead. He kept glaring at his friend, with worry. Damien didn't move at all, just kept staring at the flames.

 _She is up to something. She is back in The Game for sure. Why would she be in a noble's party if not for The Game?_ Damien's thoughts went berserk. _Val Royeaux. She must be in a Bard business again. But Bella mentioned the chantry. Leliana was religious when I last saw her, that is true. A little bit too religious. But what business does the chantry have in a Orlesian party? Maybe I can ask my spies to find out. Yes! I'll play The Game!_

He smiled mischievously to himself, stood up and started to walk his way outside.

Sayo stopped him just before he opened the door. "Where are you going?"

"To play The Game, my dear friend!" He answered, and gave him a wink.

 _The Game? What game?_ Sayo had enough confusion for one day.


	19. The Spider Web

Kirkwall slowly emptied, time being late with the sun slowly getting behind the horizon. As people finished their businesses, guards clanked in their armours, assuming the night patrols. Guardsman Donnic noticed Damien moseying the streets of Lowtown, deep in his thoughts. This man definitively didn't hear or see anyone around him. What did he think about? I'll let you, the one who reads this, decide. Alas, you probably already know it was Leliana.

He knew it will probably sound crazy if he said anything to Sayo. Perhaps the woman simply enjoys attending parties? The problem is: Damien's guts screamed something's amiss, and he had to make sure she's not doing any of that Bard business, and most importantly, he had to make sure she's safe. Thus, he paced his way to Orphanage.

There, Sister Lorena took care of the children. Both she and the kids were very fond of Damien and Sayo. Although Lorena was against the idea of using the children as spies, later she mellowed so she even helped them with maintaining information after she saw it's safe and the orphans are getting paid for their work. If anything, she could afford two hot meals a day for every child.

Door to the Orphanage was neatly hidden behind the Chantry. Honestly, it looked more like a big ruined shack than a house. However, at least it had a roof, and thus was a shelter for orphaned children. Inside, such orphans currently were sitting around the table in the middle of a dinner prayer, led by Sister Lorena. Damien leaned on the wall, arms folded, quietly waiting for the end of the sermon.

Smallest girl with bright auburn eyes noticed him. "Damien!" she called out just in time after they finished their prayer. She jumped from the chair and hugged him, while others ran towards him.

Lorena looked as if her head will explode. "Maker's sake, back to your seats! Finish your dinner!" she yelled. Tall and proud woman looked like in mid-thirties, with a long blond hair orderly tied in a ponytail. Her kind blue eyes could instantly turn into a strict glare.

Smallest girl stopped hugging, and others just sighed, returning to their meal. Lorena walked towards Damien, reaching a hand for a gentle handshake.

"Good evening, _Spider,_ messere." She always said his nickname with a joking tone. "Came here on business?"

"Only if you changed your mind about my proposal." He joked. They enjoyed teasing each other, quite a strange thing for a Chantry sister. One would think Damien had a thing for cloistered Sisters.

"In your dreams." She chuckled. "Care for a drink?"

"You need to ask?" he replied. They took a seat at the corner of the dining room. Lorena poured an imported wine in glasses, handing one to Damien.

"Finest wine, imported from Antiva by my generous friend." She smiled slyly.

"I didn't come here to talk about wine, however. I need some information from you." He began. "Tell me how _this_ works. The Chantry and all."

"You're going to become a Brother?" she cynically exclaimed.

Damien giggled. "Maker's breath, no! I'm just… curious."

Her eyes lit aflame with passionate curiosity.

"How come?" she took his palms and stared into his eyes.

"Private matters."

She _awwed,_ and let out a sigh.

"I guess I should start with the hierarchy. You see, actual priesthood of Chantry is exclusively female. That should tell you just how much they bicker between themselves. Reason for this exclusivity is because the Chantry is built on the basis that Andraste was a woman."

"I bet Maker chose her because she had nice rack."

"Damien, show some respect!" she blushed.

"Sorry, sorry." He laughed.

"Anyway… on the top of the bickering heap is Divine, and she presides from her seat in Grand Cathedral of Val Royeux. She's an omnipotent power in the Chantry, the ideal for every priestess and the beacon of faith for the faithful. Since she's the head, below her are two hands – Left and Right hand of the Divine."

"A-ha!" Damien exclaimed.

"They are her personal agents and act as her voice when she's not present. Below them are the Grand Clerics. Our country has one Grand Cleric, and she's the ultimate authority on the matters of faith, at least inside the borders of Free Marches. Climbing down the ladder, we have mothers. Every Chantry mother is responsible for the well-being of her flock."

"So they're like mother geese?"

"Are you implying something?" she asked.

"No, no, of course not. Continue."

"If a mother is in charge of the local Chantry, she's called Revered Mother. You must have heard about a schism in the Chantry. Tevinter had decided to move itself away from our Chantry, because they didn't want to leave the magic, and our Chantry proclaimed magic is never to rule over men. Thus, Tevinter has Revered Fathers. "

"So Chantry is like a family? You have a daddy priest and a mommy priest. I bet there are little priest brothers and sisters."

"You're mocking, but you're right. Below them are brothers and sisters."

"Alright, alright, my head is spinning now. I want to hear more about those Left and Right hands. And I'm still confused, Divine keeps the whole world in order and everyone obeys her? Sounds impossible." Damien said jokingly.

"She's not doing it by herself, of course. Current Divine Justinia is really good at that, as the matter of a fact."

"Why is that?" Damien was really interested now.

"There are stories she had some dealings with the bards of Orlais in the past."

 _Bullseye!_ Damien thought, as he felt slightly victorious and thankful for his gut feelings.

"Then she must be very skilful indeed. Please continue. I want to hear about the arms."

"I can't tell you much, I'm afraid. It's all very secretive. All I know is that she has so called Right and Left Hand. They are her close advisers and they operate on her behalf. If I remember correctly the Right Hand is a Seeker of the Chantry named Cassandra Pentaghast, but I know close to nothing about Left Hand. She has many names; I heard they call her Sister Nightingale, the shadow behind the Sunburst Throne."

Damien couldn't help himself not to smile. He knew this is Leliana, but he kept it to himself.

"Why are you smiling like that?" Lorena noticed.

"Oh, nothing. All this talk about hands, daddy and mommy priests and stuff is funny." He said, finishing his wine. "Anyway, I'd be very grateful if you send kids to snoop around the Kirkwall for any Chantry agents. Send some of the older ones outside the city to check around."

"Why?" Lorena asked casually.

"I just need to make sure about something." Damien said, handing two gold coins to her. "You'll get more after the job is done."

He got up and made his way outside. "Kids! Behave yourselves! And listen to Sister Lorena, if you don't want to be spanked!" He joked on his way out.

The orphans waved, cheered and smiled with a mouthful of stew. Outside, the night already fell and the cold breeze tickled his face. Empty streets beckoned with some impervious charm. Only the guard patrols boots clanked on the cobblestone as they nervously walked through the streets. Damien paced towards Blooming Rose. There's unwritten rule in Kirkwall – if anyone has the information about anything, it's a whore. Madam Lusine, the brothel's proprietor and formerly a worker, was Damien's contact there and she maintained the information and payment for his spies. She's usually cranky, but she grew fond of Damien after a couple of chit-chats. He had this effect on people.

As usual Madam stood next to a big bar, writing something in a huge book where they kept the record of all clients.

"Good evening, my lady." Damien greeted her jokingly.

Madam smiled to him. "Hello, Damien. What will it be tonight?"

"No, no. I'm here on _another_ business."

"Expanding your sexual interests?" she chuckled.

"I mean non-sexual business."

"Is that so?" She narrowed her eyes. "Wait for me in the back room. I'll be there in a minute. Quintus! Give him a drink!" She yelled at a bartender.

Quintus gave him a glass of wine and nodded in greeting. Damien gave him few silver coins in return and walked his way to the back room. All around there were moaning sounds, and rhythmical slapping of skin against skin. This was good though, it's less possible for someone to hear their conversation. After couple of minutes Madam Lusine entered the room.

"So, what's the job?" She asked, and sat on one of the stools.

"How are your connections with brothels in Val Royeaux?"

"First of all there are no brothels in Royeaux, they call it escort service. It's more or less the same thing only more...Fancy." Madame corrected him.

Damien shook his head in disbelief. "For the love of Maker, they even make prostitution fancy!"

Madame chuckled. "Those Orlesians probably scent their excrements as well. Anyway, back on the business. I know the proprietor there. And I think Porfiria's cousin works there too."

"Perfect! I need all the information regarding Right and Left Hand of the Divine."

Madam raised her eyebrow. "Never took you for a religious type."

"You're the second one who told me this today. I'm not. I just need information. And extending the business is not such a bad thing."

"Alright. I'll send some letters." Madam said.

"Thanks! Here." He handed her some silver coins. "I want full report! You know where to find me."

"Keep the coins. You spend enough in here already." She chuckled.

Damien laughed. "True that."

He left the brothel. After spending some time in a room filled with all kinds of suffocating smells, the fresh air was welcomed.

 _Now let's hope this works like I planned._ Damien thought, and walked back towards the Hanged Man.

Two weeks passed and Damien grew impatient. Sayo noticed that, of course. He asked his friend what he was up to and Damien told him the truth.

"You are being paranoid!" Sayo tried to reason with him.

"Look, I just want to make sure of something! I'm not doing anything dangerous!"

" _Fenedhis,_ Damien! You always do dangerous things! You are just too stupid to notice! You are poking your nose in Divine's business, for Creator's sake!"

"Don't worry, Sayo! I know what I'm doing!"

"Oh, for the love of… Fine! I hope it comes back and bites you in the arse!" He yelled and rushed out the tavern. He needed to calm himself down, so we walked his way to Merrill's.

Hours have dragged on since Sayo left. Damien, Isabela and Varric played some poker to pass the time, drinking along the way. And then Urchis just barged in the tavern, carrying three vellums.

"Heya, mister Spider! Here are the reports you were asking for!" he said, placing the vellums on the table.

"Fi-nally!" Damien exclaimed. "Here. Take this to Lorena and Lusine. They know how much they need to take." He handed him a pouched filled with gold coins.

Urchis tore the pouch from his hand and stormed out of the tavern.

"I see your Spider web caught some flies." Varric noticed.

"It's going to be a feast!" Damien replied. He took the vellums and took a seat at the empty table next to the fireplace, so he can read them in peace.

He lit the pipe, made a few puffs and started with the one that looked the smallest.

 _Spider,_

 _One of the Little Ones heard a conversation in the outskirts near Kirkwall. You were right! There are agents in the city. Unfortunately, we couldn't gather too much information about their activities. The conversation mentioned problems regarding mages and Templars, and something about the Rite of Tranquillity. We will keep our eyes and ears out and inform you as soon as we find anything out._

 _SL_

The letter was marked with a drawing of a small spider on the right bottom corner. He put the paper on the table and took the next one.

 _Right Hand of the Divine._

 _Cassandra Allegra Portia Calogera Filomena Pentaghast._

 _Born in Nevarran royal house Pentaghast. She rescued the former Divine Beatrix III, and she's been the Right Hand ever since._

 _Her job is to investigate and maintain the laws of the Chantry. With her training in Seekers of Truth she fits the job perfectly. She joined the Order at the age of twelve. She underwent her vigil at the age of fifteen in a remote castle in the Blasted Hills of Orlais, the youngest Seeker to do so since the Storm Age. Though of noble birth, Cassandra Pentaghast turned her back on a life of wealth and privilege to join the Seekers of Truth. The ancient order serves as a watchful eye over corruption and magical threats, granted ultimate authority in its investigations by the Chantry._

 _Her current whereabouts are unknown._

 _That is quite a name._ Damien giggled to himself. He reached for the final vellum. As soon as he unfolded it his heart skipped few beats, as he almost chocked on pipe smoke.

 _The Left Hand of the Divine._

 _Sister Leliana, also known as Sister Nightingale._

 _The shadow behind the Sunburst Throne, Divine's personal spymaster. She was trained as a Bard from a young age, making her an expert in The Great Game. There are stories she was rescued by Revered Mother Dorothea, now Divine Justinia V._

 _Inspired by Revered Mother Dorothea, Leliana dedicated herself to her faith and spent several years in a cloister in Ferelden. Later he joined the Hero of Feralden and helped defeating the Archdemon. After the Fifth Blight she joined the Divine as her Left Hand. Her job is to gather information, assassinations, interrogation and similar jobs, which invoke fear among most of people. They say she knows everything about everyone, and no one can keep secrets from her._

 _Her current whereabouts are unknown._

Damien read the words several times. He didn't know what to think. He was happy Leliana is alive, but still it was shocking to know she does the same thing she tried to avoid in the cloister, only now she does it for the Divine.

 _I have to show this to Sayo!_ He thought, gathered the vellums and ran out. He knew Sayo is probably at Merrill's. And he couldn't wait to see his face after he shows him what his little spiders have done.


	20. Whispers

What is it: rotten, smelly and full of rats?

It's Merril's home! Sayo believed some mythical architect of Lowtown actually made such houses on purpose, inspired by his first creation: Gamlen's dirty hovel. Merril's house was cleaner just because it didn't have one grumpy, smelly uncle. It seemed like no matter how much he tried helping Merrill in cleaning the house, there were more and more rats and cockroaches and the mould just kept cropping up in most unexpected places.

Sayo was lying down on the rotten bed next to Merrill. They were both naked, cuddling in silence. Sayo stopped feeling embarrassed. First time he took his clothes off, showing his feminine body, Merrill opened a mouth in surprise, but she said it was because she likes it.

"I talked to Damien the other day." Merrill broke the silence.

 _"_ _Oh, no."_ Sayo couldn't help himself but feel nervous. Damien is known to talk crap and tease when he's drunk.

"He is such a nice man. And he cares about you a lot, you know."

"What did he say?"

"After you went to get us another drink, first he thanked me for making you happy. And then I started babbling. He smiled at me very gently, patted me on the head and told me to promise I'll never change. Strange thing to promise."

Sayo smiled. "He cares about you too. He cares about everyone. He only acts like he's stupid and childish, but in reality he is..." Sayo didn't finish. He didn't know how to explain, remembering everything he went through with his friend.

"Sad?" Merrill finished.

"I was about to say miserable."

Merrill removed herself from Sayo, leaning on her left elbow, giving him a worried look.

"How is he doing? Regarding the demon."

Sayo sighed, massaging his temples in annoyance. "I don't know. He's not letting anyone in on it. He had headaches sometimes and nightmares too. I'm worried about him."

Sayo remembered the day he saw little ten-year-old Damien. Ben brought him after his job in Ferelden. He had an emotionless expression; his eyes were staring in nothingness. Ben told him he found the boy sitting next to corpses of what seemed to be his family. Damien didn't talk at all for months to come, he just sat in the room and he barely ate anything, until one day he came to Ben and with almost creepy manner said he wanted to learn how to fight.

He lost himself in his thoughts; not even noticing Merrill's babbling went out of control.

"…and then I lost my ball of yarn. Oh my. This was the worst babbling until now. We can take him to the Keeper. She could give us some pointers about it. But I can't go there alone, they hate me. Take Hawke with you, they all love Hawke..."

Merrill was interrupted with a loud thud. Damien burst inside, stopping in front of bedroom with dumb look on his face. Sayo and Merrill tried their best to cover their naked bodies.

"What the fuck, Damien!" Sayo screamed, giving brown-headed Fereldan a killing stare.

Damien had a blissful smile. "This is so adorable; I won't even say 'next time lock the door'!"

"Get out!"

"But I have something to..."

"GET OUT!" Sayo screamed once again. The only thing stopping him from killing his friend is the fact that he was naked.

Damien sighed. "Fine! I'll wait outside."

"Blood of the Dales! I'll kill him!" Sayo got up and started to gather his clothes, helping Merrill with her robes along the way.

After few minutes they called him in. Damien still had a cheeky smile, eager to comment what he just saw, and Sayo knew it.

"If I hear one word, one damned word about what you just saw I'll cut your balls off!"

Damien raised his hands up in defence with a funny, apologetic face.

"What do you want?" Sayo asked.

Damien slammed the vellums on the table. "A-ha! Look at this! And you said it was a stupid idea!"

Sayo took and read the reports and he was surprised Damien was right. It seemed the Chantry truly roamed around the Kirkwall.

"Alright, so you were right. Look, as a matter of fact, we wanted to talk to you about something. This... demon of yours." Sayo began.

Damien's expression changed from happy to pale in a second. "No." He said and turned around about to leave.

"Damie! Wait! Please!" Merrill begged.

Damien stopped, holding the doorknob. He glanced at Merrill over his shoulder, fear building in his eyes. "What?"

Sayo took a deep breath. "We were talking about your problem and Merrill said you should go to see the Keeper."

Damien didn't say anything for few seconds. His face was worried, afraid and panicked. Sayo felt heartbroken – Damien was so happy not a second ago. And now he had to face his demons, once again. It was terrible. Merrill took Sayo's palm, reassuring him to continue with their proposal.

Damien's hand left the doorknob and he turned towards his friends.

"So, you want me to visit the Dalish Keeper in order to find out how to deal with this demon?"

"Yes." Sayo and Merrill said at the same time.

"If she can use some of her ironbark tweezers to pull it out of my head, I'm game."

"She doesn't use tweezers... oh. It's not literal, right?" Merril asked.

Damien chuckled at little elf, patting her head. Merrill responded with mild blush on her cheeks.

"When are we leaving?"

* * *

This was a task where they didn't take Hawke, after all. She was still drunk after the last night, probably asleep along with Isabela. Merrill, Sayo and Damien walked across the bridge out of the city, towards the Sundermount in the distance. The carriage took them in the small village at the bottom of the mountain, where they took a small rest, while Merril gave them a small lecture about elven history regarding Sundermount. Sayo was actually interested, while Damien snoozed as soon as she started talking.

Afterwards, they climbed up the summit and after half of an hour they finally reached the clearing that lead towards the elven camp.

"By the dread wolf! Somebody's being attacked!" Merrill yelled. That's when Sayo and Damien noticed it as well. A young human woman screamed and begged for mercy, cornered by a huge black spider. Gargantuan beast closed in on her, taking small but sharp moves forward, all the while twitching to move away from her panicked punches. Its powerful jaws hidden by two mandibles soaked in poison slowly opened and closed, as the silk gland bubbled, producing a silk which dragged behind its abdomen.

"Help! Help! It's going to eat me!" she yelled, when she spotted the trio. They wanted to rush and attack the spider, but Damien felt something. The adrenaline in his veins woke something inside of him. Suddenly the image flashed in his mind: spider eggs. Spider's emotions overflew through his body: worry and fear. That's when he saw she's standing on the nest of spider eggs, half hidden by a bush.

"Move from there! For Maker's sake, you're standing on its eggs!" he yelled to the woman. Both Sayo and Merrill threw a confused glance at Damien. Woman turned around, and when she realized what happened she quickly ran away at the opposite direction. Spider did not follow her, much to Sayo's and Merrill's surprise.

Damien could feel spider's fear disappearing. The animal climbed up the nearby tree, continuing her guard over the eggs. Damien could see the spider glancing towards him, like it's thanking him.

Sayo looked at him, completely confused.

"What did you do? We're both trained assassins, but those eggs are completely hidden! I still can't see them! How did you know?"

"You will not believe me." Damien answered, walking away from two lovers, hoping the subject will be ignored. Unfortunately, Sayo can be as stubborn as his human friend sometimes.

"Oh trust me, being a friend with you made me _believe_ in many things. Most of them unpleasant."

Damien stopped, a long sigh leaving his mouth. "I felt its emotions _._ "

Sayo stared at him for a moment, trying to see whether he's joking or not. Damien glanced over his shoulder, to see what takes Sayo and Merrill so long to respond.

"You're serious?! Since when?"

"Always."

Sayo tried to think of any situation where Damien was involved himself with animals. After a long awkward silence, he finally spoke.

"Back then, in the rundown street of Denerim, your anger called the wild dogs and they ate that guard. I thought it was random, but I was wrong. Remember that parrot from the pirate in Antiva?"

"The one who constantly followed me and sat on my shoulder?"

"Yeah. That animal hated everyone, and yet it felt calm around you."

"That parrot had a hurt leg! And no one helped him!"

Merrill, who was standing aside listening to two friends, flashed a big innocent smile.

"I think Keeper Marethari would be very interested in meeting you." She clapped her hands and ushered them towards the camp.

They didn't even walk for a full minute, when elven hunters jumped out of nowhere, pointing their bows and arrows at them. Damien was just about to reach towards his daggers, when Sayo stopped him, shaking his head.

"Shemlen, the outcast and the flat-ear. Sounds like a beginning of a bad joke." One of them angrily uttered.

"Aneth ara, Salvel. We do not mean any harm. We just came here to talk to the Keeper." Merrill tried being diplomatic.

"Like I'm going to let you in, after all you've done! You're lucky I didn't shoot you and your friends on sight!"

With a corner of his eye Damien noticed an older elf approaching them. Unlike Sayo, this elf looked a bit alien. Sayo had broader shoulders, with a physique somewhat similar to human. She had smaller shoulders, face which would make her stand out from other elves even if she didn't have golden tattoos inked deeply in her skin. She wore leaves and branches, as well as a long staff adorned with tribal painting, squirrel tails and feathers.

She walked in and gently placed a palm on hunter's shoulder. His tension mellowed in a matter of seconds.

"There, Salvel. They're guests here. Let's keep things civil." She said to him with a gentle voice, offering the newcomers a soft, welcoming smile.

Hunters pulled their bows down, bowing their heads respectfully.

"As you say, Keeper Marethari." One, who seemed to be a leader, gave them one last hateful glance and led his men towards the camp.

Keeper Marethari waved her hand, gesturing the trio to follow her. Elven camp was not to Sayo's and Damien's expectations. Strange boats on wheels were all around, dozens elves stopped with whatever they were doing, watching the visitors with careful eye. Hunters were scattered all around the small camp, obviously giving the warning if the newcomers try to pull any stunt they'll not hesitate to shot them on sight.

Keeper showed them to sit next to a small campfire in the middle of the camp. She put hands over it, warming herself in the cold, mountain air. Wind was blowing rather cold at the top of the mountain, giving two pirates chills.

"I watched the situation with the spider." The Keeper began, eyeing Damien with glimpse of curiosity.

Damien raised his eyebrows. "And you didn't help?"

Sayo nudged him with his elbow, his eyes silently saying _'Show respect!'_.

Merathari, however, ignored Damien's comment. "This woman unknowingly presented herself as a thief. That animal would use her as a food for her children once they hatch, and our place is not to interfere in the natural course of events. But you're different. You warned her. Why did you do it?"

"Because I just love seeing spiders devouring people. Does wonders for the appetite." Dark-haired Fereldan answered sarcastically, earning another nudge, this time much more painful.

"Your sarcasm is unneeded. I know what lies inside of your heart. You have heard the animal, didn't you?"

"Nothing gets past you, I see. I didn't hear her; I felt her instinct. I could understand the meaning behind the images and emotions."

Marethari got up without a single word. She went to speak with one of the elves. A minute later the elf brought a white stag-like creature.

"This is halla." Keeper began. "Approach." She gestured, showing Damien to come close to this halla creature. Damien got up and carefully walked towards the animal. He could feel a flash of pain in his chest. _Anxiety?_ Damien thought. The image of a fight flashed in his mind.

"He was in a fight?" Damien asked.

Marethari nodded in agreement. "Indeed. Hallas fought for dominance not three days ago."

"He is hurt. His chest is in pain. I'd say a broken rib or two." Damien explained, as he carefully reached to pat an animal. As soon as his hand touched the creature, he could feel it calmed down. Halla started gently nibbling on his long coat, Damien couldn't help himself not to smile.

Sayo watched in silence, stunned by the scene. Hallas are very careful creatures, and hard to tame, and yet his friend is patting the animal without any problem whatsoever.

Marethari looked at the scene, obviously impressed and a little bit shocked. A glimpse of worry flashed across her eyes, and she took Damien by the hand. Keeper took a small, crystalline vial from her knapsack. She uncorked the bottle, and gently wrapped her fingers around his wrist.

"What the fuck are you doing?" he asked.

"Merely a simple test." She answered.

Bringing a small hunting knife, she pierced the tip of his finger before he could even pull the hand. She brought the tip of his finger to the vial and extracted some blood. He just watched her, stunned, as she took some transparent concoction and sipped a drop in his blood.

The blood changed into an indigo blue colour. Marethari mixed it a bit, but it kept turning bluer. She sipped the contents of the vial in the grass and the earth drank it all up. She corked the bottle and looked at him with a curiosity.

"We need to speak privately." She exclaimed, walking her way towards her tent.

Damien gave a worried look to Sayo and Merrill. "She is not my type!" He whispered, anxiously.

Merrill opened her mouth, confused by his comment, while Sayo stood up obviously angry.

"If these elves don't kill you, I will! Shut the fuck up, and go with the Keeper!"

Damien sighed, and followed the old elf to her tent.

Damien entered the aravel. It was bigger than it looked on the outside – it had a bunch of pillows strewn in the middle, with a lot of boxes and animal totems on the sides. She sat on the pillow and implored him to do so himself.

"So, how to control the demon?" He asked, nonchalantly.

Keeper raised her brown in surprise. "A demon? You are possessed?"

"Maker, that's why I came here! What was that blood extraction about?"

"I merely tested your blood for the traces of lyrium, in order to learn whether you have magical abilities or not. The test with halla was merely to check your ability to understand animals. But the fact that you're possessed, in control of yourself and that you could _understand_ animals means you're magically inclined. You're a mage."

Damien burst out laughing.

"Me? A mage? I can't even make a kitchen pot fly! I don't have a wand, and a broomstick!"

"By the Creators, you shemlen still astound me from time to time. Being a mage doesn't mean you do any of these… things. You just show a talent in magic. And judging by the fact you're not yet an abomination means you have exceptionally strong will. Such thing didn't happen since… well, will you tell me how you came to be possessed in the first place?"

Damien told her everything that happened with this Fear Demon. He told her about his nightmares, headaches and hallucinations. He even mentioned the enchanted necklace Varric gave him. Keeper was silent for few seconds, deep in her thoughts.

"So this demon, it's feeding on your emotions?" She finally spoke.

"Yes, like I said, fear is his favourite."

"But it's only inside your mind?" She continued with questions.

Damien nodded. "As far as I know."

Keeper went silent again. She looked deep into Damien's brown eyes, it almost looked like she is looking inside his soul. He felt uncomfortable.

"Unfortunately, there is nothing I can do to remove it. It is too strong, it remained too long inside you, feeding." She started explaining. "And this necklace will not do its job forever. The demon will still grow. However, there are ways to make your mind stronger. Merrill can teach you the ways of our people in order to bolster your natural defence from demons, straighten your will even more, so the necklace lasts longer and there is less chance you will lose your mind."

Damien felt disappointment hitting him like a maul. He thought the Keeper will get rid of this blighted thing.

"There is one more thing." Keeper continued. "This demon is feeding on emotions. But it still has no access to your heart."

"Most people think I don't have one." He joked, giggling.

She ignored his joke. "There will come a moment the demon will want it. It doesn't matter the cost, don't let it grasp your heart! Once he does, he will grow faster, which mean he will be killing you faster and you will die in terrible pain and suffering."

Damien swallowed the lump. " _Isn't that just wonderful."_

"You may go." She showed him to exit the aravel.

Damien gave her a thankful nod, and left the Keeper to her thoughts.

Sayo sat by the fire with Merrill, anxiously waiting for his friend to return, so they can finally leave this place. The elves eyed them like they were a menace. He knew Dalish are proud people who hate strangers, but this was little bit over the top. Damien finally showed up, he was pale, looked sick and scared to death.

Keeper, who was just behind Damien, spoke first. "Merrill, come here please." She called, making Damien to yelp in surprise. Merrill skipped to her curiously, giving Damien a reassuring pat on the arm as she passed him.

Sayo walked to his friend, and worryingly asked. "What happened?"

Damien took a long breath, and after he exhaled, looked Sayo with a gentle smile. "Oh, nothing much. Long story short, I must never let that demon to get to my heart. Problem solved."

"What would happen if it does?" Sayo asked carefully.

"Illdieinagony." He said it as fast as he could, almost not possible to understand. "Now can we please go?"

"You can die?!" Sayo asked, his voice high-pitched.

"Everybody dies, Sayo. I'm just doing one hell of a job at it. Let's just leave. Please. I'm tired." Damien looked at him, begging to drop the subject.

And he did. He didn't want to ask him anything about that matter. He was tortured enough by that thing.

Merrill returned, smiling like always. "Keeper told me..." Sayo shushed her. She was confused.

He gently whispered in her ear. "Leave him be for now."

* * *

 **A/N:** Happy New Year, dear readers!


	21. No Rest for the Wicked

Sayo entered the Hanged Man, walking his way towards Isabela, Damien and Varric who looked like being in a middle of some serious discussion. They didn't turn around, even when he literally stood behind them and patted Varric on the shoulder. Well, Varric was hard to deconcentrate once he started talking.

"I shit you not, Rivaini, it was this big!" Varric said with his laughing voice, showing a size of something with his hands.

Isabela shook her head and chuckled. "There's no way. Impossible! I've had hundreds of those in my hands, and they were never that big."

Sayo slowly moved the hand from Varric's shoulder, taking a step back. " _Can't they ever have a normal, non-dirty, conversation?!"_

"Damie come, back me up!" Isabela pleaded.

"Well, I didn't have hundreds in my hands, only few and mine, of course. But I agree with Bela: there's no way it was that big." Damien replied, with a serious expression.

Varric groaned. "Oh, c'mon! How big is yours?"

"You've seen it!"

Sayo couldn't stand there and pretend this conversation didn't just happen. "What on earth are you talking about?" He exclaimed, hoping they're not talking about what he thinks they are.

All three of them finally turned around, confused. It looked as if they've only noticed his presence when he literally yelled.

"We're discussing knives, of course." Varric answered. "Well, daggers technically. Personally, I have fingers only for Bianca. Isn't that right, Bianca?"

"Why? What did you think we were talking about?" Damien asked.

Sayo sat next to Damien. "Nothing. I think I'm spending too much time with you all."

They all sat down to drink, being quiet for few minutes since Sayo masterfully disrupted the flow of a conversation. It would turn into an awkward silence, if the doors haven't opened to a sight of Hawke, who had just entered the establishment to drink their special flavored ale. She sat down with them.

"I shuffle today." She said to Isabela, and Isabela just winked, taking a stack of cards from her pouch. The waitress brought aforementioned special ales.

"So," Varric began, smirking at Sayo. "You and Daisy."

"Today, I'm the target of your jokes?" Sayo sighed.

Isabela ignored him. "I think they are darling together."

Varric chuckled. "It's almost too adorable. Well, except for the evil blood magic thing."

"The evilest thing Merrill does most days is pick the flowers out of other people's gardens." Sayo joked making everyone giggle.

"I know; I have to bribe most of the gardeners in Hightown to keep it quiet." Damien said, and the laughter broke again.

"So that is the mysterious flower thief Bodahn's been talking about." Hawke said, barely suppressing a laughter.

"What's so funny?" Aveline showed up, standing behind Hawke.

"And the woman shaped battering ram shows up. Well, Big girl. Came here for a drink or to arrest me for being a naughty girl?" Isabela, clearly tipsy, teased.

Aveline pierced her with her green eyes. "Nothing would satisfy me more than see you behind the brig, whore."

"Is that right, man-chin?" Isabela was smirking mischievously.

"Strumpet!" Aveline threw another insult.

"Griffon-lips!"

"Scurvy tramp!"

"Catfight?" Damien exclaimed. "Catfight!" He yelled and got attention of everyone in the tavern. The rest of the gang laughed at Damien's stunt, Varric choking on the sip of ale.

"How's Donnic doing?" Isabela continued with her teasing. "Did he curl your toes?"

Everyone laughed.

"Dwarf your beard?" She continued.

Then Damien jumped in. "Grey your Warden?"

"Explore your Deep Roads?"

"Pamper your Paragon?"

And so Damien and Isabela cracked one after another, making Aveline blush, while everyone else were laughing their asses off.

"Or did he Cup your Joining?" Damien continued.

"Or master your taint? Wait, that's an old one." Isabela tried to think of another pun.

"Yes, all right? He is an incredibly proficient lover. Happy?" Aveline exclaimed, obviously she had enough of their teasing.

"That explains your personality; I bet he sticks his pole up your arse every night."

"Maker's breath! Here!" She tossed a letter to Damien. "I ran into your _friend._ She told me to give you this."

Damien unfolded it. It was from Madam Lusine, marked with a spider drawing at the bottom of the paper. "You didn't read it?"

"Less I know the better. Otherwise you would never leave the jail." She replied. "Anyway, Hawke I need to talk to you, come meet me at the barracks later." She waved and walked away.

He began to read the letter.

 _Spider,_

 _A name you asked me to keep an ear out has popped up, as one of my girls was entertaining a man named Velasco. I hope that name rings a bell to you. He mentioned an Antivan businessman named Castillon. It seems he's in Kirkwall right now. This man, Velasco, is in the Rose every night in the same room._

 _ML_

Damien chuckled. "Well, you'll love this, Bela! Our old friend is in town."

"Who?" Isabela asked, confused.

"Castillon."

There was a brief silence, as Isabela and the rest of the group tried to process the information Damien just told.

"Look," Damien handed the letter to Isabela. "Velasco is in the Rose every night. We can use it. We can set a trap or something."

"Like what?" Hawke asked, her face obviously showing she knows they probably have some stupid idea in mind.

"You could use me as bait." Isabela answered.

"What? No!" Hawke protested. "What if something happens to you?"

"Oh, relax, sweet thing."

"Relax? Isabela, you haven't exactly thought this out, have you?" Hawke showed a sincere concern.

"I haven't exactly worked out all of the kinks. Step one, we go to Velasco... step two, I don't know. Something exciting happens. Step three, profit. Any questions?"

Damien and Varric giggled at their desiccation. In the end they all came out with a plan. Damien will scout on the rooftops, Varric, Sayo and Merrill will try to stay out of sight and wait until they see Isabela was taken by Velasco and his men. And Hawke will act as her captor and hand her over to Velasco.

The night embraced the city of Kirkwall and the party made their way towards the Hightown. Sayo couldn't shake off the feeling they were being watched and followed. Merrill noticed he was nervous, so she squeezed his hand.

As they reached the entrance of the brothel, Isabela turned to Hawke.

"Now, this needs to be convincing. And you'll need to get creative—call me names, even hit me."

Hawke was obviously nervous. She just looked at her lover with pleading stare.

Isabela continued. "Stick with it, no matter what I do. Velasco's a clever son of a bitch. If you waver, he'll notice."

"I don't know if I can pull this off, Bela."

"Oh, come on! Haven't you ever wanted to slap me? Just a little."

"Yup." Damien joked, trying to relax poor Hawke.

"Yes." Varric joined in, chuckling.

"Yes." Sayo also answered.

"Yes...wait, what are we voting for?" Merrill, confused like always, made everyone laugh.

"I wasn't asking you people!" Isabela said through her laughter.

"Face it. You set yourself up to that one." Damien chuckled.

Hawke was a little relaxed now, seeing her friends cracking jokes and laughing.

"Alright! Everyone ready?" Isabela looked at them all, while they were nodding. "Let's go!"

Everyone entered the brothel, except Damien who climbed his way up on the rooftop to keep an eye on the surrounding. The air was chillier up on the roofs, which was good, it eased the annoying painful pulsing in Damien's temples. He crouched at the edge of the roof, looking for anything suspicious. And he saw them. The group of twelve thugs, wearing Armada insignia on their armor standing at dark ally, almost invisible.

 _Clever arseholes._

Damien knew Castillon and his pets realized Isabela is setting a trap for them. Castillon wasn't stupid after all. Damien watched them and tried to figure out how to deal with them, or at least distract them so Sayo and the rest of the gang can follow Isabela's trail undisturbed. _One on twelve? Well, this should be fun._ He jumped from roof to roof until he was right above their heads. He took a deep breath and leaped, landing atop of two thugs, sticking daggers at their back. _Let's dance!_

As soon as they stepped inside the brothel, a strong scent of perfume and tobacco stroke their nostrils. As always, the Rose was crowded. People were sitting around tables, flirting with prostitutes, or drinking at the bar still deciding which whore to purchase. Madam Lusine noticed them as they entered. She casually walked towards them, greeting and acting like they're just another group of customers.

She whispered to Sayo's ear. "He's upstairs, the master bedroom. His men are at the bar, two on the far left corner. And please try not to make a mess." She walked away, back to her business.

Sayo carried Madam's words to others, and so their plan was on motion.

Sayo, Merrill and Varric took a sit at the table located at the far end of the room, one that had a good view at Velasco's thugs.

"Oh, I'm nervous!" Merrill whispered, nervously tapping with her legs.

Sayo smiled at her and pat her head. "Try to relax, we don't want them to see something's off. I'm right here, there's nothing to worry about."

Minutes passed, and they all started to worry if the plan failed.

"There is Rivaini!" Varric pointed out.

Indeed, Isabela's been dragged across the brothel by two thugs. She tried to fight them off, and she could if she wasn't acting. The entire Rose looked on, confused. Soon Velasco walked out, followed by two men who were drinking at the bar.

"That's Velasco!" Sayo nodded towards the man with long black tied hair, and big black beard. Two scary looking daggers protruded behind his shoulders. They noticed his satisfied smirk, even though half hidden by a bushy beard. Isabela winked at them when she saw them, before the Felicisima Armada pulled her out of the sight and the front door to The Blooming Rose closed behind them. Muttering broke out at once among the whores and their clients, surprised what they had just seen.

Hawke ran towards them, wearing satisfied smirk on her face.

"What are you smiling at?" Varric asked.

Hawke smiled wider. "Oh, nothing. It was incredibly satisfying to slap her across the face."

Everyone laughed. Merrill looked confused. Now they only needed to wait for ten minutes, and then follow Isabela's trail. They sat around the table, drinking their liquor, while Hawke recited them a tale called _How to smack Isabela's face._ Sayo could see Varric is already thinking of writing that one.

* * *

Damien could hear cheering and laughing, but it sounded so distant. His arms tied with a rope above his head, the blood having run out of them as he was hanging limply. His face felt bloody and bruised, as was his shirtless body which was beaten with whip, chains, batten, literally everything these Armada thugs could find. One dead body was lying in front of him, as he strangled the man with his legs while he punched Damien's face. After that they kept their distance from him, beating him with whatever kept the range out from his legs. One could say they were pissed at him, after all he killed five of their comrades, before they finally knocked him down.

After the whip smacked him on the back again, leaving a fresh burning pain and feeling of a flesh tearing apart, Damien laughed through the painful groan. "One more! I love kinky stuff!"

He regretted his words immediately as the heavy wooden baton collided painfully with his right side. He could feel the _crack._

"Argh!… Fuck!" He hissed trying to catch his breath. Fresh laughter broke from the crowd.

"Still feeling like joking, Spider?" The one with a baton asked jokingly.

Damien chuckled. "You know… I knew a whore… From Bone Pit… Who can hit harder." He teased, barely breathing, as the pain stormed after every inhale. _Bastards broke my ribs!_

"Maybe we should wipe that smirk off his face!" Another one said, and whipped Damien across the face. A sickening burning pain spread across the left side of his head, feeling like it split in two. Damien let out a scream. _And there goes my eye. Wonderful!_ The image of Merrill's face flashed in his mind, the excited wide eyes and smile because now she is a friend with a _real_ pirate with an eyepatch. He couldn't help himself not to giggle at that image.

"You… crazy son of a bitch!" Fresh burning pain appeared on his chest, after the cracking whipping sound echoed the place.

The cheering and laughing stopped when the door burst open. Velasco entered the room, followed by his men who were wrestling with Isabela. He could hear her groaning and cursing. He had to muster all his strength to lift his head and see the Captain. It seemed his eye was intact after all. For a second her eyes were terrified after seeing Damien, but she pulled herself together and started her "Heartless Queen" act.

"Look what my boys have found, Isabela! One of your _rats_!" Velasco said with Antivan accent, satisfied.

"Spider." Isabela corrected him. "And what's that supposed to be? The way to make me shit my pants?"

Damien chuckled. " _That's my Captain. Hiding her emotions"._ Isabela tried her best not to look at him.

Velasco giggled. "Oh, just to shake you up a little. Aren't you concerned about you friend?"

"He's not my friend; he is just a part of my crew. I'll find replacement soon enough." She answered calmly, leaning on a pile of crates, folding her arms under voluptuous breasts, her legs crossed.

At least the thugs stopped beating him up, distracted by Isabela's sexy appeal. Damien got some time to think how to get himself out of this situation.

"You know, I always had an eye for feisty girls like you." Velasco continued, eyeing Isabela with a sly grin. He leaned in closer to her, until he was only few inches from her face. "Why don't we make a deal, and maybe I can talk Castillon to go easy on you?" He whispered. The rest of his crew whistled and cheered.

"It might sound strange coming from me, but I do have some standards." Isabela replied, disgusted, grinning at the man.

Velasco chuckled. Damien could notice his hand began to trace up inside of Captain's thigh. He suddenly felt sick. There was no way Isabela could fight all of them unarmed. " _Think! Do something! Anything!"_ He thought, but all that pain and his consciousness going back and forth, it was hard to concentrate.

"If you want to keep that hand," she hissed. "I suggest you remove it."

Velasco chuckled evilly. "What are you going to do, Isabela? I own you until Castillon..."

He didn't finish as Isabela brought her right knee up in between his legs, crushing his crown jewels. Damien giggled loudly so everyone can hear, feeling proud of his Captain. Velasco buckled over and fell on the ground groaning in pain, clutching his groin with a painful grimace on his face.

"That was just a warning," Isabela warned him, smirking. "Touch me again and you're a dead man."

Unexpectedly, one of the surrounding guards tackled Isabela on the ground. Suddenly more of them joined in holding her pinned on the ground. " _Fuck! Do something!"_ Damien thought, but he was powerless. He saw Velasco closing in towards Isabela, unbuttoning his pants. " _No!"_ Damien looked around trying to find literally anything to cause at least a minor distraction.

Isabela tried to wrestle against the strong grip of Armada's men. "Don't you dare! I'll kill you!"

Others laughed and drooled, waiting impatiently for a show to begin. Luckily one of the thugs let his guard down, and walked just in the range of Damien's legs. He tried to ignore all the pain and lifted himself up, wrapping his legs around the man's neck, screaming as the pain stormed through his whole wounded body. It got everyone's attention. Skillfully, Damien snapped thug's neck, and released him from his grip. The loud _crack_ successfully distracted Armada's men, at least for a second.

"For fuck's sake, just kill him already!" Velasco screamed, ushering his men.

Damien could feel someone tilting his head back, cold metal on his neck and then a sharp pain as the blade slit his throat. He tried to breath, but his lungs were slowly filling with blood instead of air. He heard a commotion, and somehow he fell flat on the firm ground.

Everything around him, sounds and images, started fading away and at the end, he fell unconscious and unaware of what happened next.

Sayo joined the others, storming the place where Velasco dragged Isabela. Through all this time, Hawke looked so concerned and Sayo didn't want to look at her face. It reminded him on how worried he himself was for his friend. Damien was gone for a while, and knowing him he _definitively_ did something stupid. As they entered, Hawke told them to wait and quietly crept behind one of the crude columns.

Her face had that ' _shit'_ expression, and Sayo's heart fell into his knees. Something really bad is happening down there. Sayo snuck closer, and when he saw what transpired it paralyzed him, completely. Damien was hanging on ropes, all bloodied and tortured, the man holding a knife on his neck.

"No!" Sayo screamed, but it was too late. The man slit Damien's throat.

Sayo screamed out of anger and desperation. Velasco definitively noticed this. He stopped his men from trying to rape Isabela, and turned attention towards the intruders.

"You again? Haven't we had a great deal there? Now it seems I have to kill you! Men!"

He didn't give them enough time to react. Velasco's men appeared from everywhere, and not just those down there. He kept a lot of them everywhere around.

Sayo didn't know what to do. He would gladly kill every thug for doing this, but as they fought Damien is dying. Merrill stood next to Sayo, with terrified pale expression.

"Cut the ropes!" Sayo yelled at Merrill. With her shaking hands she aimed with staff towards the rope Damien was tided, red bolt fired from it and rope snapped, as Damien fell limply on the ground. "Heal him!" Sayo ordered.

"But...I don't... I- I'll try!" Merrill's eyes were wet from tears.

" _Fenedhis!_ I swear by every one of Creators, I will kill him when you revive him!"

Hawke jumped amidst the guards, and just as they jumped on her Sayo observed the real Hawke snuck behind them in a black cloud. They jumped at the decoy she left, and she quickly slaughtered them as they attacked the fake she left behind. Varric stood atop the stairs, firing bolts rapidly on the thugs.

"Don't just stand there, Rivaini!" Varric yelled at Isabela. Isabela quickly joined the fight.

Sayo could only focus on how to defend Merrill, who knelt in front of pale, greyish Damien. Man was on the verge of death; Merrill tried her best to heal the wound on his neck, her hands shaking uncontrollably as she cried. She wasn't the healer, but if she could at least close the wound it could buy them some time until they kill all the Armada and run for Anders.

Sayo wanted to kill Velasco by his own hands and he was lucky enough. Velasco noticed Merrill trying to heal Damien, and wanted to kill him. Sayo, of course, realized what Velasco is planning and welcomed a chance to do this.

"Get away from this fucking corpse, elf." Velasco spat.

"Only corpse here will be you, shemlen trash." Sayo answered. Velasco wanted to say something, but Sayo grabbed a pile of dirt from the ground and threw it in his eyes. Velasco choked and yelped, trying to brush the dirt from his eyes.

"Elven scum! I'll kill you! I'll rip you apart!" he screamed, finally managing to blink and see something through his bloody eyes. He could only see the tip of the crescent moon shaped dagger slashing over his throat. Velasco opened his mouth to say something, but realized he can't breathe in as his lungs filled with blood.

"Want to see how my friend felt? I didn't cut anything vital, except your vocal cords. You'll bleed, but you'll live… for now."

Velasco raised his hands, trying to defend himself.

"I see you broke some of his ribs. It's evidently, by that large baton you left there."

By now, most of the other thugs were dead so he wasn't attacked anymore. Hawke turned around.

"Sayo, what are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm giving him the taste of his own justice." Sayo answered. Hawke bit her lip and stopped her friends from interfering.

Velasco hissed through his broken vocal cords, raising his hands to defend his head. He was too hurt from prior fight to get up.

"How about we do this first?" Sayo asked, and screamed in anger, breaking both of his legs with a heavy batten. Velasco's eyes and face distorted in pain, and he thrashed his hands and legs, twitching and convulsing.

"Browncake!" Isabela yelled.

"Does it hurt, you fucking pirate?!" Sayo screamed. He took a baton again, slamming hard over his chest. Something definitively snapped, and Velasco's chest produced a sickening crunch. Velasco's eyes widened in horror and shock, and he coughed a blood. His whole body was shivering and shuddering in fear and pain. He begged Sayo to stop, but couldn't say anything.

Sayo wasn't in control of himself anymore. All the anger he accumulated through his whole life just overcame him. He remembered his mother and how the pirate ejaculated over her corpse, and the feeling of helplessness. Now he saw Damien killed by a same group of pirates. Was this a justice for Damien, for his mother or for himself? He didn't know, and he didn't care anymore.

Thus, Sayo screamed in anger, as he raised the baton over his head, hitting Velasco again, and again, and again! He screamed, hitting his body wherever he could, even long after Velasco was a dead chunk of meat.

"Browncake, for the love of… whatever you believe in, stop!" Isabela yelled. Velasco was unrecognizable, and Sayo stood above his corpse, wet from the blood.

"This is justice. To every pirate, raping scum. To every fucking murderer in this world. I will kill every single one of them!"

Hawke let Isabela go, and she disarmed Sayo with a swift move. Sayo didn't even oppose her efforts.

"Browncake, this is not you. Come back to your fucking senses!" Isabela yelled at him. Sayo turned back to her, his eyes full of tears.

"They killed Damien! They killed my mom! I will destroy them!"

"They are dead! We killed all of them, Browncake!" She tried to calm him down.

Sayo looked at his friend and rushed to him. Merrill was crying and sobbing loudly. The huge red smile on Damien's neck stopped bleeding, closed by magically formed fresh layer of thin skin. There were bloody bubbles forming in his mouth, showing Damien is still barely breathing.

"I'll go fetch Anders! You take him to my house!" Hawke exclaimed and stormed out as fast as she could.

"I'll kill him!" Sayo sobbed. "Stupid, fucking asshole! I knew something like this will happen! Brain dead arsetard!"

Isabela and Varric stood there in silence, as Sayo muttered every insult he could think of, on both Common and Elvish.

"Isabela!" An Antivan accent came from the entrance. "Good to see you again."

It was Castillon. He smiled at them, not even noticing a half dead body between them.

"You..." Sayo felt new wave of rage overcoming him.

But Isabela was faster to react. "You see this, Castillon? This is what your men did." She said slowly moving towards him, with daggers in her hand.

"Now, now, my dearest Queen. You know I had nothing to do with it." Castillon said with faked empathy.

"Is that so?" Isabela smirked.

"Now let's talk buss-" Castillon's words stopped when Isabela stabbed him with a flash speed in the chest. Castillon bled out holding the wound, with terrified face. He fell on the ground, dead.

Few seconds of silence embraced the room again.

"What are you all doing? Take Damie to Hawke's house! Quick!" Sayo yelled in panic. Everyone jumped and started to find the way to carry Damien all the way to Hightown.


	22. Resurrection

Drifting between waking and a dream, Damien heard a faint clap of hands. As he slowly opened his eyes, sigh of relief left his parched lips. He breathed in, and the pain was gone. Lifting head, he noticed his hands still tied above. When his eyesight finally sharpened, he saw Sayo. However, looking again he realized something is terribly wrong. Sayo in front of him had crimson eyes and sickly, pale skin.

"Bravo, _lethallan."_ He said, with a distorted voice faking amusement, followed with a couple of claps. "I must say, I'm so glad I picked you for my feeding ground. Serves me all the trouble of hunting Halla. They're so chewy."

Damien knew this sensation. He was in the Fade. All around him was the endless grey space, with floating rocks above the head and the anxious feeling in the air. This Demon smirked at him, a distorted version of Sayo's visage.

"What is it that you want?" Damien asked, feeling the anxiety building up in his guts and chest.

Demon chuckled. "You are a very interesting human, Damien. When those men beat you, you had no fear at all. But as soon as the Queen of the Eastern Seas showed up..."

"Shut up..." Damien tried to argue with him, but he had no strength in his body.

"Oh, Damien."

As he blinked, Demon suddenly looked like Leliana. Damien felt his heart skip few beats when he saw her, although this one looked sickly pale, with demonic eyes. "You should be grateful. You're still alive because of me, you know."

"Alive?" Sudden flashback appeared in his mind, eyes widen in realization. "They killed me..."

"You think I would just let you go, Damien? You belong to me, and I am very fond of you." Demonic Leliana chuckled evilly. "But should I let you live? I think I should, for now. You are too… Entertaining to be devoured."

Demon in Leliana's form stood up, walking towards him with her well known, catty walk. She unsheathed a dagger and he saw an eye of Chantry on the pommel. It was sickening… this Demon copied her terrifyingly correct – a feat impossible for weaker spirits.

"There is a lot of pain waiting for you." The form smiled, slitting Damien's throat in lightning speed. As the black blade cut his throat, he felt a sinew snapping as the invisible force pulled him to the unknown. Was he dead? The white light blinded him, perhaps a light at the end of the tunnel? This is where he fell, sinking in this white light.

Deeper, and deeper…

* * *

Several hours have passed since midnight, and Sayo was sleepless. His friend burned in fever, laying in a king-sized canopy bed inside Hawke's room. They did all they could to wrap him in soaked rags and use improvised bandages to cover his wounds. Anders came here earliest, spending all of his mana to keep his wounds from festering. Even though he insisted, Hawke forbade him from using Justice. They've been here two days and Damien was still unconscious. Varric, Isabela, Hawke and Sayo took turns in nursing the man.

Atmosphere was grim, to say at least.

It was worse for Sayo. Ever since they entered the warehouse, half-elf had been overwhelmed with a feeling of anxiety. Several times he had to call Varric earlier, because he needed a fresh air on the balcony. Merrill held his sweaty hands through those times, and he prayed to all Creators to have strength not to beat the blood out of Damien when he wakes up. In his anger, and with Damien's wounds, it might truly kill him.

While Sayo was deep in his thoughts, Damien suddenly jumped up off the bed, falling down from it as he held his throat, frantically tossing on the floor.

"Damie!" Sayo yelled, waking up from half-sleep, jumping from the chair, kneeling next to his friend. Damien's face had a terrified, painful expression. It verged between sheer terror, cry and utter vulnerability. His eyes were empty like those of a corpse, as if the life was drained out of them.

Damien's eyes slowly gazed upon him. Shine slowly returned back to them but the terror and pain remained. He calmed down, and at that moment Anders burst in the room, joined with Hawke.

"What happened?" Hawke asked, breathless as they ran up the stairs.

Sayo panicked. "I don't know! Help me lift him up."

Damien's eyes never stopped looking at Sayo. He opened his mouth trying to say something, but pain flashed in his throat and he grabbed it making a painful grimace.

"Shh, don't try to speak." Sayo whispered. "Your throat was slit."

Hawke and Anders carefully lifted him up on the bed. Damien lay down, shaking from fever and pain. Anders placed a hand on Damien's head, a calm blue light flashed from it. Soon Damien fell asleep again.

Sayo stood there in shock watching his tortured friend who fell unconscious once again. The look in Damien's eyes haunted him. That man was in so much pain, so much fear. Flashbacks came to his mind, the images of his mother.

 _"_ _Is this how you felt, mother? A body in pain, but no voice to scream?"_ he thought as fresh tears filled his eyes. Something grazed his arm. With blurry vision he saw Merrill, who had the same sad face filled with tears. He hugged her as hard as he could while his sobs filled the room.

¸ But it would take more than just two days for Damien to recover. Another week had gone on. At first, he was waking up but the pain was unendurable. Merrill used her sleep spell to give him some rest. Two days ago, he finally managed to eat but every time he swallowed he would make that painful grimace, grabbing his painful, sore throat. Few times he tried joking as he usually did, but he only produced unnatural, hoarse sound so he stopped himself, barely enduring the pain. When he tried to talk is sounded more like a raging dog barking, and one could see Damien actually found it funny, although he was in pain.

After a week, he finally managed to eat a rabbit stew. Isabela and Sayo took turns watching over him, ready to help if he over-exerts himself. His wounds mostly healed by now, leaving big pinkish scars all across his body, neck and the left side of his face: a sickly reminder of his stupidity, Sayo thought.

Hawke entered the room, holding a piece of paper, waving it as she approached them. "You won't believe who sent me a letter!"

"Who?" Isabela asked, who was leaning on the wall next to the bed.

"Revered Mother." Hawke said looking at the letter, like she is trying to confirm one more time the Revered Mother truly sent it.

"Maybe she has a crush on you. Everyone in Kirkwall does." Isabela joked. Sayo, Hawke and Damien giggled.

"I know, it's such a burden." Hawke replied jokingly. "Anyway, she wants me to meet Divine's agent. Someone called Sister Nightingale."

Sayo and Damien both raised their heads, shock and recognition filling their eyes. Damien dropped the spoon in the plate and the stew splashed all over his clean clothes and Hawke's bed. No one paid attention, everyone's eyes were on the Champion.

"Sister Nightingale. Hah, that's quite a name." Isabela giggled, obviously ready to crack jokes on the subject. "Are you going to meet her or you're going to _meet_ her?"

Damien tried to get their attention, frantically waving with his hands. They ignored him.

"I don't know, maybe it is a trap." Hawke said worryingly.

"Why would Revered Mother want to kill you?"

"Half of the bloody Kirkwall wants me dead, and I just..." Hawke was interrupted by Damien's loud smack on the table. He lost his patience as he couldn't get anyone's attention by waving his hands. Everyone looked at him, confused.

He gestured by writing with invisible pen in the air. "Quill..." He said hoarsely.

"Oh, you want to write something?" Hawke asked, tilting her head in confusion.

Damien nodded. She rushed to her writing desk, looking for paper and pen. Sayo noticed Damien had that familiar mischievous grin, and again he had the same feeling he will do something stupid. But he didn't say anything. After all, what could Damien do in this state? He can barely walk.

Soon Hawke came back and handed him some small paper and a pen already dipped in quill. Damien nodded in thanks, and started to write:

 _The spider web is set. The game of tag is on._

And finished it with a small drawing of spider at the bottom. He folded it and handed the paper to Hawke.

"Give… This… To her." He said, his voice heavily distorted, unnaturally hoarse. "Don't… Read."

After every word he made a painful grimace, holding his throat to ease the pain.

Hawke took the letter. "I won't read it, I promise." And tucked the letter in her pocket, earning another thankful nod from her scared fellow.

"We'll read it later, won't we?" Isabela winked to Hawke.

"No." Hawke answered, and left the room to prepare herself for the meeting.

Isabela followed her, like a child who wants sweets that are denied to her. "Oh, come on. I know you are dying to read it as much as I do."

Their voices faded away. Sayo watched Damien with strict glare.

"What are you up to this time?" Sayo asked, frowning as he gave a scolding glare to his friend.

Damien smiled innocently. "Nothing."

After days of pain and agony, Damien was finally his old self, which eased Sayo's heart. But still, he couldn't just do nothing after Damien wrote a letter to Leliana. He knew him way to well, and his guts were telling him Damien has plans.

"I'm going to meet her. I don't care about The Game you're playing." Sayo said and started to walk his way out. Damien's hand grabbed his wrist before he could walk away.

He pulled Sayo close to himself. "Please… Don't tell her… What happened." He whispered, trying his best not to strain his vocal cords.

Sayo knew what Damien meant. He nodded and walked away.

"Oh, and Merrill will come to look after you while we are out." Sayo remembered, turning to Damien once again. "Don't forget to thank her for saving your life."

Brown-eyed Fereldan nodded and gave a small smile to silver haired friend.

Damien was left with Sandal and Bodahn in a Hawke estate. He was sitting in front of the fireplace, deep in thoughts, drinking some Antivan wine he found on Hawke's liquor table. Everyone forbade him to drink alcohol, since he's still too weak, but since he's left alone he took the liberty to drink some good wine. With every sip his throat was screaming as alcohol started to sting his wound but he didn't care. It was nothing compared to what he felt past few weeks.

Staring into fire, Damien was deep in his thoughts. Sayo was right, he always is. Damien was an impulsive idiot. He could have just run to the brothel to warn them about those thugs. But his brain was working in its own way, and the only thing he could think of doing is to rush on them, and stupidly get caught, which lead close to his demise. His body was still hurting, his broken ribs sore and painful. And he will never have a normal voice again.

Then his thoughts focused on Leliana. He wanted to meet her so much, but how can he when he is in this state? He didn't want her to see him like this; scared, beaten, and weak. He was considering sneaking out and having at least a quick glance on her from shadows, but he could barely walk. He cursed to himself and his stupidity.

His thoughts were interrupted by a gentle voice. "Hello, Damie."

He looked up and saw Merrill. Her little face was wrinkled in a funny, worried frown. He gently smiled at the elf, and nodded in greeting. She walked closer to him. It was funny to watch the small elf as she tried her best to find the words.

"How are you feeling? Oh, I'm sorry. It must be hard for you to speak. Stupid to ask you the question. I was just – Oh..." She was so concentrated on her babbling she didn't notice when Damien got up. He hugged her as hard as he could.

"Thank you." He whispered, trying hard not to tear up a bit, since the lump formed in his throat.

Merrill hugged him back with shaky hands. "Promise me you won't do that again. Sayo was really… Scary when all that happened." She said, her voice trembling, along with her whole body. Although Damien is not a hugging type, somehow he couldn't bring himself to let Merrill go. His hug tightened, the flash of pain on his ribs warning him to stop, which he ignored.

"I promise." He whispered and let the elf go from his hug.

Merrill lowered her head, wiping the tears from her eyes. Raising her head again, she offered the cutest smile that would make everybody's heart melt. "I'm so glad you are alright!"

She sat next to scarred man, continuing her babbling about how she got lost again. Damien didn't mind, he was actually glad about chance to live and listen his dear elf friend.

* * *

Sayo was hiding behind the stone pillar in the hall of the Viscount's Keep. He remembered Hawke saying the meeting with Divine's agent should be in The Keep at late night hours. It was quiet, too quiet in Sayo's opinion. He noticed Hawke and the company passing though the hall few moments ago, so he thought Leliana should be here soon. Just as he grew impatient, a voice behind him startled him, making him jump in fear.

"Sneaking around, as always." A red-haired beauty stated, gently smiling to a startled elf.

Sayo held his hand over his chest, trying to ease a frantic heartbeat. "By the Creators, Leliana! You scared me!"

Leliana giggled, leaning in to give Sayo a hug. He returned the warm and friendly hug. "My apologies. Why are you here?" She asked slyly.

"I think more important question is why are _you_ here." Sayo asked, making her giggle.

"Divine thinks there will be chaos in Kirkwall. She sent me to assess the situation. Tension between Templars and mages is coming to critical level, and she needs to see whether it will change into something that might threaten all of Free Marches or worse, Thedas."

"Just between us, Leli… do you think mages are wrong?" Sayo asked. Leliana leaned next to Sayo's ear.

"No." she giggled.

"Aren't you supposed to enforce Chantry's interests?" Sayo asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"Chantry's interests don't have to be my interests too. Magic should never rule over men, but I knew some very good mages in my life. They were free, yet they didn't resort to blood magic. Should they deserve to be locked up just for being born as they are? I don't think so."

"I'm glad being with Chantry didn't change you."

"And if I might say, Sayo, you look as adorable as ever." She pinched his cheek, which surprised the silver-haired elf.

"Leli! You know I hate when you do that!"

Leliana laughed quietly. "So, you came to see me with some purpose, or we'll just talk about me?" she asked.

"I wanted to thank you… you know. For what you did at Val Royeux. We would be her prisoners and die in that town. We owe you our lives."

Leliana shook her head with a soft smile on her lips. "You'd do the same for me, no? Where is Damien? I thought he would want to see me. I knew you both know it's actually me coming to meet your friends." She nodded knowingly. Alas, her face changed into worried one in a blink of the eye.

"Also, I've heard about some trouble and the rumours about his injuries."

"Ah, you know Damien. He would spread rumours about injuries to look cool in eyes of the ladies. He's fine. We drank a lot yesterday and he's sleepy." Sayo literally said that in the heat of the moment, not really knowing how to lie to Leliana, who is also a well-trained bard. Lying was all she did for the longest part of her life.

Leliana looked at his eyes and let out a sigh. It was noticeable she didn't believe him, but she let it slip.

"I see. Fine. It was good to see you, Sayo. Say hello to Damie when you see him."

"I will. It was good to see you too, Leli." Sayo answered. Leliana turned her face around, and Sayo saw the sad frown on her lips just as a sudden explosion echoed though the dark halls.

"What the…" Sayo jumped and was about to rush into the direction of a said explosion. But Leliana stopped him.

"Go!" She said nodding towards the exit. "Damien needs you. I'll take care of this." She smiled and disappeared from his sight. Sayo was fighting an inner battle for few seconds. He wanted to go and help, but Leliana was right. Damien needs him.

* * *

 **A/N:** Hey, everyone. Just wanted to let you know next chapter may or may not be the last one.

'Till next update!

 _Hogy_


	23. The End of the World

After the encounter with Sister Nightingale, none of them could shake off the feeling something bad is going to happen. Blood mages went berserk more and more every passing day. Hawke was so busy they've rarely seen her around, even in her own house. Just yesterday, as they played Wicked Grace, they saw an angry group of Templars strutting down the street, with three bloodied mages tied like cattle.

Neither Damien nor Sayo liked the ominous atmosphere surrounding Kirkwall. There was also the rumor about Templar brutality towards all the mages, not just the rebel's. The group of Templars only proved this rumor, creating further tension.

"I was thinking…" Damien uttered with his newly hoarse voice. Nobody was used to his new voice, although Isabela did find couple of fun jokes for it.

Varric chuckled. "Oh, no. Not again."

Merrill and Sayo laughed. They were in Hawke's estate, playing poker. Damien's idea of strip poker was rejected, so he was frowning angrily for quite some time.

"Ha-ha! You are so funny!" Damien replied on Varric's joke with heavy sarcasm. "Anyway, if heads of Chantry are so eager to evacuate Big Mama from Kirkwall, why don't we at least help the orphans and Sister Lorena get out?"

Sayo looked at him with worried look. "I was thinking the same. All the reports we get about mages and Templars… Things aren't looking great."

"Hawke is so busy with them. I haven't seen her in days. I miss her…" Merril let out a sad sigh. Sayo couldn't help himself not to give her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Where is she? I saw her storm out this morning; she looked like in a hurry."

"I've heard Blondie asked her to help him with something." Varric said.

After couple of rounds, they decided to go and talk with Sister Lorena. Although it was late afternoon, streets of Kirkwall were almost empty. The word about rogue blood mages massively escaping the Tower spread fear in people's minds. Even some shops were closed down.

Sayo glanced at Damien's newly scarred face. "You know, I don't think it will be a good idea to let the kids see you."

Brown-haired snapped his head towards his friend, confusion written all over his face. "Why?"

"Well… You don't… You look… Scary?" Sayo stuttered, trying to find the kindest way to explain his concern.

"Scary?" Damien asked confused. "Oh, the scars! Yes, well… Can you go inside and fetch Lorena? I'll wait outside."

Sayo nodded, glad that Damie agreed to his proposal.

They reached the Chantry and Damien hid himself in the garden, just in case if some orphans were to run around. After couple of moments, Sayo walked in the garden followed by the blond sister who had a confused expression. The moment she saw Damien, she let out a strange sound, mixture of surprise and terror, covering her mouth with palms.

Damien chuckled. "Oh, come on! I don't look that bad!" He joked, mainly to ease a tension that was noticeably building up.

"Spider… What happened to you?"

"I'll tell you the story some other time. Look, we need you to do something."

Lorena nodded, her eyes running all over Damien's face and body.

Sayo pulled out a sack of coins from his pocket, offering to a stunned sister. "Here, take this. Gather all the orphans, and leave the city as soon as possible."

Sister blinked in confusion, her focus now on a short half elf. "Why?"

"Something bad is going to happen. We don't want you, or the kids, to get hurt. Or worse…" Damien stepped in front of her, placing a hand on her shaking shoulder. "We've arranged the caravan; it'll lead you to Cumberland. After you get there, do whatever you want."

Lorena started to panic, her eyes flying from Sayo to Damien. "What is going on?"

"Doesn't matter!" Damien was losing patience. "Just please, leave as soon as possible, alright?"

Sister Lorena nodded. One last glance at Damien, eyes filled with sadness and she walked back inside the orphanage in a rush. It didn't take long. Just as the sun sat behind the city walls, orphans and Sister were ready and left Kirkwall in hurry. Both Sayo and Damien hoped they'll see them again. They grew fond of orphans and kind sister Lorena.

* * *

It was late at night, two friends walked around the abandoned city streets. For Damien, it was refreshing to be outside again. After they had enough of the fresh air, they stopped at Hightown market square. The tension and anxiety was so palpable in the air, it sent shivers down their spines.

"Wanna go to Hanged Man?" Sayo asked his friend.

Damien nodded in agreement. Just as they took a step towards the stairs leading to Lowtown, behind them a huge pillar of red light tore the sky apart.

"What the…?"

First they only saw the light. Huge pillar of red light pierced clouds, then a rumbling sound like an earthquake, traveling through the ground. They didn't have time to react before the shock wave reached the place they were standing, windows bursting as it passed through buildings. It kicked them off their feet, tossing them at the wall. Both were disoriented, hearing only a high pitched buzzing in their heads. For a while it looked like everything was moving in slow motion.

 _See, Damien? This is what happens when fear overwhelms a weak human mind._

Demon maniacally chuckled.

After his stomach stopped turning, Damien stood up on shaky legs, tottering towards Sayo. His friend was still sitting down, leaning against the wall, looking like seconds from throwing up.

 _Every one you know will die! And you will be left alone!_

Demon cheered, but Damien pulled himself together and ignored the annoyance in his head.

"Are you alive?"

"Barely. What in the Creators name happened?" He tried to stand up, Damien helped him.

They looked at the direction from where the explosion came.

"It came from…"

"The Chantry."

Damien felt like the time has stopped. There was this dreadful silence in the air, like ten thousand voices rose up in panic and then just died. Yet, he knew there was no time to waste. Anxiety slowly building in his stomach screamed, fight-or-flight response turning to flight as he ran towards the Chantry building, almost pulling Sayo behind.

Their run was rather slow.

His body was bruised all over after the explosion kicked him of his feet, and his wounds were still in the process of healing. Sayo did not look any better – his lips were blue and he bled from the ear. Streets of Kirkwall were in chaos. Those buildings that didn't collapse outright were crumbling, citizens screaming in fear and pain as the dust settled down on burning streets.

Arms or legs peeking under the rubble weren't as bad as people who somewhat survived the blast only to realize their whole body was burned. Sayo almost threw up, seeing charred remains of dead woman holding a child close to her chest. Damien and Sayo joined efforts to save as many as they can, and after what seemed to be an hour they finally reached the Chantry square.

Of course, Knight Commander Meredith and First Enchanter Orsino where already at each other's throats. Hawke was also there along with all their friends. And to their surprise Anders was also there. Just as they approached closer they could hear their conversation.

"Was that… Why you needed me to distract the Grand Cleric?" Hawke asked Anders, with trembling voice.

Isabela noticed her boys running towards them, nodding in greeting.

"What happened?" Sayo asked, running towards Merril who was trembling in fear.

"Anders blew up the Chantry." Isabela said nonchalantly, earning puzzled stares from Damien and Sayo.

"It was him?!" Damien yelled, directing his gaze to a mage they all considered a friend.

Anders ignored his killing stare. "The Circle is an injustice, in many places beyond Kirkwall. The world needs to see."

"You fool! You've doomed us all!" Orsino was furious.

"We were already doomed. A quick death now or a slow one later – I'd rather die fighting." Anders answered to First Enchanter.

"Oh, you'll die, don't worry, Blondie!" Damien threatened a blonde mage, daggers already in hands. The thought that Sister Lorena and the kids could've die was terrifying, but to find out it was Anders' doing was making him more than just angry, he was beyond furious.

The only reason he didn't leap towards ex Warden mage was Meredith. "It doesn't matter. Even if I wished to, I could not stay my hand. People will demand blood." She stated to Hawke, who had confusion written all around her face.

The Champion looked at First Enchanter. "I won't let her slaughter all of you."

"Hawke, if you do this, I don't know if I can follow you." Aveline pointed out, worried.

Every one of their friends stood behind Hawke's choice. Isabela, however, turned to her boys and muttered: "Shit. What have you gotten yourself into this time, Isabela?"

Damien chuckled at her statements. "Oh c'mon, Captain! You choose Hawke to be your lover; you knew she's a magnet for trouble."

"I heard that!" Hawke called out from behind them, earning laughter from three pirates.

From nowhere, Merrill turned up next to Damien, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You should stay out of the fighting as much as possible. Your ribs are still not healed."

"I'll be fine." He patted the elf on her head, while she blushed.

However, they banter was interrupted. Hawke walked her way to their blonde mage friend who was sitting on a crate. Knight Commander and First Enchanter were gone; they left to prepare their men for ensuing battle.

Standing behind Anders', Hawke was silently judging him for what he has done, and the mage knew it.

"There's nothing you can say that I haven't already said to myself." Anders began. "Vengeance… took me over. I couldn't stop him. Justice once told me that demons are just spirits perverted by their desires. I made my friend a demon. And he did this."

Damien felt fear rise inside him. He felt Demons presence, like he is standing right next to him.

 _Look closely, my little human. One day this might be you. One day you'll lead all your friends to a disaster!_

He ignored his words as best as possible, yet he couldn't help but feel there's a truth to his words. One day, the Demon will take a full control over his body and what then? Will he be able to resist? There's no way he could harm Sayo or Isabela, but what if he couldn't control himself?

"How could you do this to us, Anders?! You should have said something, we would have helped!" Sayo was still in shock.

He always thought Anders is an odd egg and fanatical about mage justice, but this? This was insane.

"Kill me now before there is nothing of me left." Anders continued, ignoring everyone around him.

Anger and disappointment, those could be seen in Hawke's blue eyes. She was fighting an inner battle, to kill Anders or let him live. He was, after all, her friend.

Isabela stepped forward. "Hawke…"

The Champion raised her hand, stopping her lover from voicing her thoughts on the matter.

"You have to pay for what you've done." She said with unnaturally calm voice, readying her dagger.

After brief silence Anders nodded and said: "I know. You should've done this long ago."

Everyone watched with anticipation. For next few seconds it seemed the time itself stopped, or at least was slowed down. Hawke's blade made contact with Anders' back, and dug deep until it reached his heart. His limp body fell on the ground, ever so slowly as he breathed his last breath.

Hawke turned around to her friends, who patiently waited for her command.

"Let's just leave. Orsino is waiting." She stormed pass them, and they all followed.

The walk towards the Circle Tower was silent. No one uttered a single word, even Damien and Varric, a shocker. All of them had their thoughts about the events that were and are about to come. The chaos is inevitable, and they all knew it. But will that chaos stay inside Kirkwall walls or will it spread like a disease throughout Free Marches, or even the whole Thedas?

Their silence was interrupted by a familiar call from the ally.

"Sister!" Younger Hawke called out, wearing her Grey Warden robes, her staff ready in her hand as she ran towards the group.

"Bethany?!" Older sister was so overwhelmed with Bethany being here, her voice was so high pitched, it made Isabela almost burst into laughter. "What are you doing here?"

Bethany jumped and hugged her sister. "We were in outskirts when we saw a red light and heard the explosion. I ran all the way here to check what… What in the Maker's name happened to you?!"

Bethany covered her mouth in shock when she saw Damien, who raised his brow in confusion. "What?"

With all that shit that just happened with the Chantry and Anders he completely forgot about his _new appearance._

Sayo decided it's better if he answers the question. "Asshole almost died on us, is what happened!" He still didn't forgive Damien for what he's done.

"You… What… I…" Bethany stuttered, her gaze running all over Damien's body, scanning visible scars, stopping at the big pink gash on his neck.

Her hand flew so fast even Damien couldn't react when it slapped him over the scar on his cheek.

"Argh! What was that for?"

Bethany ignored him, her focus on her sister once again. "What is the situation?"

Hawke needed a moment to pull herself together, looking at brow-haired Feralden who was trying to come to his senses after the slap. "Uhm… We'll explain everything along the way. Come, we must hurry."

This time they ran. Sayo and Damien were at the end of the group. Scared pirate still rubbed his cheek, whining like a little bitch.

"I can't believe she slapped me!"

Sayo chuckled. "You deserved it!"

"Still, it seems she got stronger. It's kinda hot."

"Don't even think about it!" Bethany called out in front of them, while Hawke gave him look that could kill him in the spot.

The party laughed while Hawke continued explaining her sister what happened. The Gallows could be seen, and all the laughter and banter stopped. They all knew what comes next when they reach that damned place.

* * *

 **A/N:** Hey, readers! Just wanted to inform you that the next chapter is the last one.

We are still working on it, so it may come a little late.

Until next update!

 _Hogy_


	24. How To Fight Fear

„So... So much death... Why don't they just drown us as infants like Meredith said?"

They've been fighting in the Circle Tower's halls for an hour now. Mutilated corpses of both Templars and mages were scattered all around them. One could not take a single step without staining its boots with blood and gore. Orsino was losing his mind, watching his apprentice's corpses, the panic noticeable on his elven face more and more.

"We knew this won't be easy fight." Hawke replied, while tending to Isabela's wound. She got a nasty cut on her left thigh.

Sayo welcomed a much needed break from the fighting. He saw Damien leaning his back on the wall, eyes closed as he took deep breaths. The blasted Demon didn't shut up ever since they started this fight, which made his headache almost unbearable.

Silver haired half elf walked towards his friend, trying not to step on body parts on the stone floor. "Are you hurt?"

Damien opened his eyes that instantly met the silver ones. "No. It's just… He won't fucking shut up!" He rubbed his forehead in frustration.

"Who won't shut up?"

Their heads swiftly turned to the direction where the question came from. It was Bethany. Thankfully, she was unscratched and her Grey Warden uniform wasn't stained with blood.

"Sayo! He is nagging all the time!" Damien answered, faking annoyance.

His friend just rolled his eyes. "I'm going to check how the others are."

Bethany and Damien were left alone, both of them focusing their eyes on Hawke and Orsino who were arguing about the next move they all should do. Damien knew Bethany probably had dozens of questions for him, about his near death experience.

"Damie… Are you-"

She didn't finish her question; Hawke's loud voice focused everyone's attention to her and Orsino. "What did you just say?!"

First Enchanter's face grew dark. "I lied, Champion… I was indeed a student of your mother's killer." He revealed.

Bethany tightened her grip on her staff, taking a step towards the mage. Damien stopped her, taking her wrist and pulling her back. "Don't." He whispered. The Demon in his head was laughing, and he had a feeling the latter knew something bad is about to happen.

"Did you just hear what he said?" Bethany spat, fury taking over her.

At that moment, Orsino's voice echoed throughout the halls.

"Meredith expects Blood magic? Then I'll give it to her!" He screamed while slitting his wrists, calling upon a demon. He seemed to swell in the air, turning into something monstrous, dragging the dead bodies nearby towards him before growing in size of a darkspawn ogre.

Everyone backed off, preparing to kill whatever he was becoming.

A creature from everyone's nightmares. That's the description of what Orsino has become. A huge abomination, made out of bodies of his dead students.

 _Oh! How interesting! Amazing! I've never seen anything like this!_

The Demon commented showing his excitement. Damien ignored him and joined his friends to fight this monstrosity. Swarm of demons started to emerge from the ground, but Hawke's friends already knew which role to play in massive fights such as this one. Merrill, Sayo, Damien and Varric focused on fending off the demons to give others as much room as possible to defeat the big guy.

After ten minutes, a painful cry echoed turning everybody's eyes towards the abomination that used to be First Enchanter. Hawke was on that thing, frantically driving her dagger into the creatures head. It looked like she tried to pull something out of its mouth. Suddenly a small deformed creature flew across, as Hawke tossed it, while leaping down from now collapsing monster. They didn't even have a chance to have a better look on new smaller monster, Hawke stamped on its head until the last desperate ear-piercing cry died out.

"What in the Maker's name was that?" Bethany asked, shocked as much as everyone else.

"I don't know, but it ruined my favorite boots." Hawke answered while trying to shake the thing's guts off her boots, making a comical disgusted face. "Let's go. We have a bitch waiting for us outside."

They all chuckled, and walked their way to the courtyard, while other surviving mages around stared at group with confused eyes.

One final battle. As they walked towards the Circle exit all the chatter and chuckles died out. They knew it won't be an easy fight. As expected, Meredith was waiting at the bottom of the steps with her Templars, as though expecting them to come out eventually. She didn't look surprised to see that only Hawke and her companions remained.

"And here you are, at long last," she greeted them, smirking at all of them while they walked down the stairs.

Bethany was shivering, and Damien noticed it. He knew how much she was afraid of Templars and the Knight Commander before she joined the Wardens. He leaned closer to her, and whispered: "Stay close to me and Sayo as much as you can. We won't let them touch you."

She didn't say anything, just glanced at the man next to her and gave a nod in response.

"You are no mage like your sister, Champion, but you chose to take her side and share the fate of her and her kind," Meredith's words echoed, "If this is truly what you wish, then I'll give you the battle you seek!" She finished, unsheathing her huge sword.

"Really?!" Hawke exclaimed with sarcastic tone, "I thought you will let everyone else do your fighting for you!"

Just as everyone was getting ready to leap into the battle, a known blond Templar stepped forward. "Knight Commander! I thought you intended to arrest the Champion."

"You will do as I command, Cullen!" Meredith ordered angrily.

Cullen glanced at Hawke, then everyone behind her. "No!" he yelled firmly. "I defended you when Thrask started whispering you were mad, but this is too far, Meredith!"

"I will NOT allow insubordination!" She screamed menacingly, pointing her giant sword at him. The blade glowed an unnatural red color, stirring up something in everyone's memories. Meredith noticed all of them staring at her weapon. "You recognize it, do you not? Pure lyrium, taken from the Deep Roads."

Varric's eyes widened. "Andraste's bouncing butt cheeks! The idol… The one that my idiot brother stole from us during the expedition!"

"Meredith, that thing killed him in the end, drove him mad!" Hawke said, shocked to find that it was the exact same one. She, and everyone else, knew this cannot be good.

"He was weak, whereas I am not!" Meredith replied, gazing at the blade with deranged look in her eyes. "All of you! I want _her_ dead!" She pointed the massive sword at Hawke.

"ENOUGH!" Cullen yelled yet again. "This is not what the order stands for! Knight Commander, step down! I relieve you of your command!"

Everyone braced themselves, Meredith turned red with rage. It seemed Cullen's words pushed her over the edge.

"Relieve me? The blood mages reach is strong indeed. My own Knight Captain falls prey to the influence of blood magic. You all have!" Meredith spun around, waving her giant weapon at her own Templars, who backed away in fear. "You're all weak… allowing the mages to control your minds, to turn you against me! But I don't need any of you. I will protect this city myself!"

"She finally lost it." Isabela muttered, her hands firmly grasping her daggers. "Just like Varric's brother did."

Suddenly Meredith pointed her sword back at Hawke, ready to attack. "Time to die, Hawke!"

Cullen intercepted, jumping in front of her as she was readying herself to attack. He raised his sword protectively, guarding Hawke and her friends from danger. "You'll have to go through me first!"

"Idiot boy! Just like all the others!" the Knight Commander screamed hysterically. "I'll have all your heads!"

Meredith stabbed her giant sword into the ground, showering them all with sparks. Raging beams of red light erupted from the concrete, much like that which had blown up the Chantry. Her Templars retreated, confused, just like Hawke and her companions. To their surprise, the Knight Commander bowed her head and began to pray.

"What is she doing?" Isabela asked, shielding her eyes from the blinding red light. "Is she using some weird Templar power?"

Cullen shook his head. "None that I've ever seen."

"Blessed are those who stand before the corrupt and the wicked," They heard her muttering, "… and DO NOT FALTER!"

With barely a second to react, Hawke and her companions were swept off their feet along with Knight Captain Cullen and the remaining Templars, as Meredith flew towards them at full speed, knocking them to the ground. Sayo looked up from where he lay, his mouth hanging open as he realized the Knight Commander was flying.

"What the-"

"Oh, come on!" Damien shouted in disbelief somewhere behind him. "That is _not_ fair!"

Fenris was the first on his feet, followed by Aveline and Cullen. The three of them charged down and began to attack deranged Knight Commander, however, their blades had a little effect on her. Sayo helped Damien get up on his feet, both of them staying close to the remaining two mages in their little group. Sayo didn't move from Merrill's side, while she fired spells on flying abomination. Damien joined the fray, but still aware of Bethany, glancing every now and then to check on her. Templars also followed their Knight Captain, turning their blades not on Hawke and the others, but on the crazed Knight Commander.

No one could find the weak spot on Meredith's plate armor. All of their attacks seemed absorbed. Finally, Hawke managed to plunge her dagger deeply into Meredith's metal-plated chest. The deranged woman screamed like a fade demon, her eyes glowing red, sparks flying from her as the corruption from the idol her sword was made from spread through her body. Suddenly, Hawke and her companions were lifted from their feet and blasted back across the courtyard.

Meredith fell on her knees again, "Maker!" she gasped, "Your servant begs you for the strength to defeat this evil!"

Before anyone could reach her, she launched herself into the air to an impossible height and flipped backwards, landing at the top a stone plinth between the white marble steps.

"Ho-ly shit!" Varric exclaimed, stumbling back on his feet.

"My ribs didn't heal enough for this!" Damien gasped, leaning onto Isabela, who was staring at ruby colored Knight Commander wide-eyed.

Meredith trusted her sword into the ground once more. The marble opened up, flaming red beams shining through the cracks and traveling towards the gigantic, stone slave statues nearby. Everyone looked up, watching the scene unfold as though it was a terrible nightmare. The statues came to life before their very eyes!

"Are. You. Fucking. Kidding. Me?" Damien watched with disbelief, as one of the statues made a step towards them.

"I've never seen anything like this." He heard Bethany gasp beside him. Just as he turned his gaze towards the younger Hawke, with a lightning speed he dashed forwards.

"LOOK OUT!" He yelled pushing Bethany to the side just in time as a statue swiped at her from behind. The pirate knocked her to the ground, almost taking the blow. As the statue's huge fist collided with the ground, marble floor exploded loudly filling the air with dust.

"DAMIEN!" Sayo yelled, fear overtaking him. Just as he was about to jump and dash towards the place Damien was few seconds ago her heard a familiar voice calling out.

"We're alive." Damien replied, running out from the dusty curtain, Bethany following closely.

Sayo was so occupied with Damien he didn't even notice that, in fact, entire courtyard was alive with action now.

They all fell one by one, leaving only Aveline, Hawke, Cullen and Bethany still on their feet. Fenris lay bleeding few feet away, impaled by the large stone spear, beside him, a pile of unconscious Templars. Varric was face down in a pool of his own blood, next to him Damien was squirming in pain. Merrill and Sayo were trapped in hands of a massive statue, screaming their lungs out for someone to save them. Isabela tried her best to stand up on her feet, but with nasty blow she took few seconds ago it was easier said than done.

Knight Captain pulled Hawke to the direction where Meredith was standing. Damien somehow managed to get on his feet, his broken left arm screaming in pain. Just as Hawke and Knight Captain were at Meredith's reach, he used the last of his strength and hurled his dagger, the same one Leliana gave him so many years ago, towards crazed woman. She noticed the flying dagger, and deflected it with her massive sword, but alas that was enough to redirect her attention for a mere second. Hawke didn't hesitate, she impaled her daggers deep in Meredith's back, while Cullen slashed her midsection with his sword. Hawke stabbed the Knight Commander over and over, her blood-chilling scream echoing in the night.

Red beams of flame and sparks spilled out of her as her skin began to crack, much like the ground earlier. All of a sudden, the sword in Meredith's hand shattered and blew into smithereens. Hawke was instantly catapulted backwards through the air as Meredith burned from inside out, and fell to her death, her ear-piercing scream chilling them all to the bone. She turned to stone before their eyes. There was a final explosion as the Knight Commander was obliterated and the enchanted statues crumbled to the floor with her, defeated once and for all.

The night seemed to go still. Silence embraced the city of Kirkwall. Corpses lay all around, innocent citizens, mages and Templars. At the Gallows' courtyard Bethany screamed her sister's name, begging her to open her eyes, while Merrill and Damien tried to reach Sayo, who lay still few feet away from the crumbled statue.

"Sayo! Wake up!" Merrill called out, tears running down her cheek.

"Let me take care of it." Damien said comfortingly, kneeling next to his unconscious friend. "Sayo? If you don't open your eyes this instant, I swear I'll introduce Merrill to Zev and you know it won't end well."

Sayo snapped his eyes open in a second. "NO!" He yelled, frantically looking around until his eyes met with his lover.

"There we go…" Damien said victoriously, got up and hobbled his way towards Hawke who seemed be awake now.

Varric was also awake, barely standing on his feet, leaning onto Isabela as they also walked to Hawke's direction. Fenris however, was gone. They lost one more friend to this madness.

As they all gathered around Hawke, suddenly the remaining Templars surrounded them. They looked around; those who still had weapons in their hands, ready if another fight breaks out. Damien pushed Bethany and Sayo behind him, protectively, shielding them from harm. Hawke stepped forward, her daggers ready in hand. Templars moved in, their swords drawn.

"No!"

Knight Captain Cullen appeared atop one half of the stone plinth, where Meredith had been standing on before. The Templars turned to him in shock. Cullen glanced up at smoking remains of Knight Commander Meredith, and then stared down on Hawke and her companions. After several tense seconds, he gave them a slight nod then waved his hand, ordering the Knights to back away.

Hawke was the first who took a cautious step back, towards the steps leading out of the Gallows. The others followed, all of them keeping careful eye on the Templars surrounding them. What remained of the Templar Order watched after the Champion of Kirkwall and her friends as they walked off into the distance, never to be seen again for a very long time.

* * *

 _Epilogue_

"We vanished into hills, and circumstances eventually forced us all to leave the Champion's side. Well, all of us except Isabela and her crewmates. You still hear the stories, of course. With each telling they grow, even if at the core remains the truth. New legend had been born. So that's it. That's the whole story."

Varric finished his tale.

"Then, Meredith provoked the Circle? She was to blame?" Cassandra stared at his eyes, not knowing whether to believe his story or not. She wanted to be angry, but her chest trembled with fear and panic. She wanted to have the reason to throw him into chains, or simply slam his head against the stone chair and kill him this instant. But she knew he was speaking the truth.

"Or that damned idol was. Or Anders. Take your pick."

"Even so, had the Champion not been there…

"...It might never have even gone that far."

"I see." Cassandra sharply cut his words.

"So, how is hearing all this going to help? You've already lost all the Circles. In fact, haven't the Templars rebelled as well? I thought you decided to abandon the Chantry to hunt the mages?"

"Not all of us desire war, Varric. Please, if you know where the Champion is, you must tell me. She is a hero, a woman that the mages would listen to. Someone who was there at the beginning. The Champion could stop this madness before it's too late. She may be the only one who can."

"Is that what this is all about?" he said, and his head fell down. The wave of regret washed over him, and at this moment he cursed a moment of weakness when Cassandra caught him. Still, she could order their guards to kill him, and he had no other option but to oblige.

"In that case..." he continued:"… I wish I could help you."

"Just tell me one thing then. Is the Champion dead?"

"Oh, I doubt that."

"Then you are free to go, Varric. May the Maker watch over you during the dark times ahead of us."

"Same to you, Seeker… Same to you." Varric finished.

* * *

 **A/N:** And here it is. The last chapter, and thus this story is complete!

We'd like to thank everyone who read this story, and followed it until the very end. We understand that stories with OCs are not popular, but hey we tried and we really had fun writing this (hopefully you had fun reading it as well).

Now about the sequel, that will take place in Dragon Age Inquisition, we are still writing it. But we promise as soon as we finish at least 10 chapters, we'll publish it.

There may be some one shots explaining the events we skipped, in this story, mainly to "fill the gapes". If any of you, dear readers, have questions or suggestions let us know.

Until next update,

 _G-Boy & Hogy_


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